Val Kilmer Spoofed ‘Top Gun,’ ‘The Doors’ and Himself When He Hosted ‘SNL’
Val Kilmer wasn’t always the easiest actor to work with. His painstaking attention to detail and immersion into his characters — everyone had to call him “Jim” on the set of The Doors — famously got on the nerves of his films’ cast and crew. But just because he was serious about his work doesn’t mean he took himself seriously. When he hosted Saturday Night Live in 2000, Kilmer proved to have a great sense of humor about his most famous roles.
Take Iceman, the cocky aviator who Kilmer played in both Top Gun and its 2022 sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. He took a third crack at the character on SNL, reimagining his iconic role as a gone-to-seed commercial airline pilot still trying to relive his glory days.
@huggyattack
Iceman: The Later Years chronicles the character’s softball-dad years, copiloting a 727 full of tourists but wishing he was still breaking speed records. He brags to his copilots that he recently got the plane up to Mach 3. The crew calls bullshit, causing cocky Kilmer to admit, “I was shaving with a Mach 3, and when you’re shaving with a Mach 3, there’s no time to think — you think, you’re dead.”
Don't Miss
Iceman misses the drama of being a Navy fighter pilot, warning the crew that their egos are writing checks that their bodies can’t cash. Sure, sure, says Nora Dunn’s flight attendant — did Iceman want decaf coffee or regular?
Drama isn’t all Iceman is missing — after an uneventful landing in Flagstaff, Arizona, he’s looking for more action. “Why don’t we go to the hotel room and shower and dry off and play some volleyball?” he asks copilots Chris Parnell and Will Ferrell.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” replies Ferrell, making a hasty exit out the cabin door.
Kilmer also made fun of his notorious Jim Morrison role, playing the dead musician as he assembles a heavenly rock band. The dreamy singer, taking a long swig off a bottle of Jack, invites Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Keith Moon, Buddy Holly, and, inexplicably, Louis Armstrong to join him. Heavenly music producer Jesus Christ is blown away, hearing their sound and exclaiming, “Oh my Dad.”
But even in heaven, Morrison’s vibes were bumming everybody out. His new girlfriend, Amelia Earhart, is turning into a real Yoko. Like all great bands, Morrison’s group broke up — this time because he was reincarnated as a little girl.
Kilmer made himself the joke in his opening monologue, admitting that he’d turned down the show a few times because the prospect of performing live made him nervous. He shouldn’t have worried — as he proved early in his career, the guy had serious comedy chops.
