Val Kilmer has had a long and storied career in films and television. The actor put those experiences on paper to create his memoir entitled 'I'm Your Huckleberry'. An excerpt from the book was recently published by The Daily Beast, in which Kilmer reminisces about his time making the cult movie Top Gun, and his personal equation with co-star Tom Cruise. According to Kilmer, he had developed a bit of a 'Party boy' reputation on set, which somewhat put him at odds with Cruise.

"Tom refrained from our revelry, with good reason. From day one, he was laser-focused on a singular goal: to become the greatest action hero in the history of film. He was up nights learning lines; he spent every waking hour perfecting his stunts. His dedication was admirable. Of course even more admirable is the fact that he achieved his goal. I also love that he's a Mark Twain fan. Tom is a comrade I respect and admire, though as creatures we hail from galaxies far, far away from one another.

Today, of course, Tom Cruise is well-known for his hyper-focused approach to action movies. Acting as a producer on the Mission: Impossible series has allowed the actor to exercise greater control over the proceedings, and he uses the opportunity to insert one death-defying stunt into the series after another that he personally performs. It seems the actor had the same approach early on in his career when he played the lead role of fighter pilot Maverick in Top Gun. Kilmer further goes on to elaborate about the time he played a prank on Cruise.

"My favorite moment between us was a small prank in which I gave him an extremely expensive bottle of champagne but placed it in the middle of a giant field and made him follow scavenger-hunt-style clues to find it. I hid behind a bleacher and watched him lug the giant crate to his motorcycle. He never did thank me for the Iceman-style bit. I thought it would break the ice, but I guess the ice was just right."

Although the two actors did not appear to have a similar approach to work and their personal lives, Val Kilmer talks about Cruise in glowing terms in his memoir. He also looks back fondly on his time making Top gun, even though he writes about how he initially resisted trying for the role of Iceman, which has since gone on to become as iconic a character as the lead of the movie, Maverick.

For Kilmer, it was the enthusiasm exhibited by the director of the film, Tony Scott at all times during filming that convinced him to do the role. And the rest is history. After becoming one of the top films of 1986, Top Gun is finally getting a sequel, where Cruise will be reprising his role, and Kilmer will also be making an appearance as an older, more world-weary version of Iceman. This news was first reported by The Daily Beast.