• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Val Kilmer's Dialogue In Top Gun: Maverick Was Read By AI Because He Can No Longer Speak

Home> Entertainment

Published 15:32 3 Jun 2022 GMT+1

Val Kilmer's Dialogue In Top Gun: Maverick Was Read By AI Because He Can No Longer Speak

The actor revealed recently that he had to fight hard to be involved in the new movie

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

The new Top Gun movie landing back on the big screen last week saw the return of not only Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell, but also of his one-time nemesis Lt. Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky, played by Val Kilmer.

But the actor revealed recently that he had to fight hard to get the gig, with producers not too keen on the idea at first.

The 62-year-old suffered irreparable damage to his voice after undergoing a tracheotomy in 2014 to treat his throat cancer.

He now has to use a voice box to communicate, and last year revealed that they had to use special AI software to allow him to speak in the new Top Gun film.

Advert

Described as a 'Photoshop for voice', the tool is available for the actor to use for communicating in his professional and personal life.

"I’m grateful to the entire team at Sonantic who masterfully restored my voice in a way I’ve never imagined possible," Kilmer said.

"As human beings, the ability to communicate is the core of our existence and the effects from throat cancer have made it difficult for others to understand me. 

"The chance to tell my story, in a voice that feels authentic and familiar, is an incredibly special gift."

Val Kilmer as Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick.
Paramount Pictures

Advert

Speaking last year about his voice, the Batman Forever star said: "People around me struggle to understand me when I'm talking.

"But despite all that, I still feel I'm the exact same person. Still the same creative soul."

Discussing how he became involved in the new film, Kilmer said he begged producers to allow his character to return.

He said: "Tom was Maverick, but Maverick's nemesis was Iceman. The two went together like salt and pepper.

"It didn't matter that the producers didn't contact me. As The Temptations sang in the heyday of Motown soul, ‘Ain't too proud to beg'."

Advert

Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer in the original Top Gun.
Paramount Pictures

Following on from the 1986 classic, Top Gun: Maverick sees the return Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell (Tom Cruise), who is tasked with teaching a batch of fledgling pilots the tricks of the trade.

The synopsis for the film explains: "After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy's top aviators, Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.

"Training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment, Maverick must confront the ghosts of his past and his deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who choose to fly it."

Featured Image Credit: Paramount Pictures
Dominic Smithers
Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

X

@SmithersDom

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
  • 8 hours ago

    Woman who partied with Noel in the 90s reveals what the Oasis brother is really like

    She says things changed around 1997

    Entertainment
  • 8 hours ago

    Lad with Oasis ticket reveals hilarious way he's going to wind up 'proper fans' at the gig

    This will really drive long-time fans wild

    Entertainment
  • 8 hours ago

    Black Sabbath fans shocked as Game of Thrones legend Jason Momoa joins moshing crowd at final gig

    He was specially recruited to be the compère at Villa Park, Birmingham, this weekend

    Entertainment
  • 8 hours ago

    Fans divided over 'terrible' Oasis show as first gig revellers complain 'they just play song after song'

    Probably tweets you wouldn't want to tag Liam in...

    Entertainment
  • Val Kilmer was paid at least $2k per second for his scene in Top Gun: Maverick
  • Top Gun: Maverick has overtaken Titanic to become the seventh highest grossing film of all time
  • Only Fools and Horses stars Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst 'no longer speak'
  • James Buckley explains the real reason Inbetweeners can no longer come back