Another original Top Gun actor has joined the list of former co-stars who are fondly remembering Val Kilmer, in the wake of his passing on April 1.
In an interview with BBC News, Barry Tubb, who played Wolfman, the wingman to Kilmer’s Iceman, remembers him as being one cool customer.
‘He was the coolest cat I’ve ever met,’ the 62-year-old said of the man and the artist. ‘Not only did he have great acting chops, but he was funny as hell.’
It turns out Kilmer filmed a lot of behind-the-scenes antics on the set of the hit action drama film with his own personal video camera.
‘He had the first video camera I’d ever seen. They got so tired of telling him to turn it off on the set of Top Gun that they finally just let it go,’ Tubb remembered.
‘We had a fun time with it because we tried to catch everyone on the toilet with the video camera. That was our goofing around,’ the Bay City Blues alum. ‘So there’s video somewhere of everyone with the door open on the toilet. We were goofballs.’
Original Top Gun actor Barry Tubb, 62, has joined the list of former co-stars who are fondly remembering Val Kilmer, in the wake of his passing on April 1
‘He was the coolest cat I’ve ever met,’ Tubb, 62, said of Kilmer. ‘Not only did he have great acting chops, but he was funny as hell’; Kilmer, Tubb, and Tom Cruise in scene from Top Gun
Some of the footage ended up being included decades later in the documentary Val (2021), which charted his career and health challenges.
Tubb went on the reveal how the on-screen rivalry between Iceman (Kilmer) and Maverick (Tom Cruise), along with their respective wingmen Wolfman and Goose (Anthony Edwards), could even be felt behind-the scenes when cameras weren’t rolling.
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‘Cruise never hung out with us. It was all of us, except for Cruise,’ the Snyder, Texas native explained, before adding, ‘He was method acting as the loner, and we were all at this beach hotel, riding motorcycles down hallways and things.’
He maintained producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson even got in on the party atmosphere during the shoot by throwing ‘parties every other night.’
‘And so it was definitely in the air,’ Tubb said as he recalled his experience making the film that became a huge hit with fans, raking in $357.3 million at the worldwide box office against just a $15 million budget.
On Thursday, Cruise paid tribute to Kilmer after his surprising death due to complications related to pneumonia at the age of 65 on Tuesday.
Taking to the stage at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas for CinemaCon 2025, the longtime leading man, 62, announced: ‘I’d like to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer,’ as reported by Variety.
‘I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honored I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick,’ the four-time Oscar nominee said.
Tubb, who played Wolfman, said Kilmer filmed a lot of behind-the-scenes antics on the set of Top Gun with his own video camera, some of which was shown in the Val (2021) documentary
Tom Cruise, 62, paid tribute to Kilmer at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas on Thursday
‘I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
Cruise ended the tribute by sharing: I wish you well on the next journey.’
Top Gun (1986) would end up being the breakthrough in Kilmer’s career, which led to him becoming a leading man and major star in Hollywood.
Some of his other notable film performances included Willow (1988), The Doors (1991), Thunderheart (1992), Tombstone (1993), True Romance (1993), Batman Forever (1995), Heat (1995), The Saint (1997), The Prince Of Egypt (1998), Alexander (2004), and Déjà Vu (2006), among others.
Top Gun (1986), which a smash hit at the box office, ended up being the breakthrough in Kilmer’s career; Kilmer (second right) is seen with Cruise, Anthony Edwards, and Tubb
Kilmer, 65, passed away due to complications related to pneumonia on Tuesday after years of health problems, including a throat cancer diagnosis in 2015
Kilmer, a Los Angeles native, went on to make his final film appearance in the long-awaited Top Gun: Maverick (2022), reprising his role as Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky.
The sequel was another smash hit, earning a whopping $1.496 billion at the global box office after spending upwards of $177 million on the budget.
Tubb did not return for Top Gun: Maverick, although he is seen in a few shots, with his image from a 1986 ‘class picture’ from the original shown on a wall.
Kilmer, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015, spent many of the later years of his life largely out of the public eye dealing with his various health problems.