Despite the fact that his cameo in Top Gun: Maverick was brief, it appears Val Kilmer was compensated handsomely for his participation in the 2022 sequel.

Kilmer’s part in the Top Gun trilogy has made him a lot of money over the years, with his depiction of Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, the nemesis of Tom Cruise’s Maverick, being acclaimed as legendary since its premiere in 1986.

While Kilmer and his co-star Cruise achieved international renown and a prosperous career as a result of their roles in Top Gun, the 63-year-old actor was forced to retire from performing after being diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015.

As a result, he had two tracheostomies, which impacted his vocal cords and ability to talk.

Fans were taken aback when it was announced that Kilmer would make a brief cameo in the action film’s highly anticipated sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, which was released 36 years after the original.

Iceman reunited with Maverick after ascending through the ranks to become a four-star admiral in Kilmer’s brief appearance in the 2022 film.

Iceman was able to talk thanks to artificial intelligence, which Kilmer confessed made him upset when he first heard his AI voice.

It was a watershed moment for both Kilmer and his fans, with his presence receiving rave reviews.

And, in addition to being an emotional occasion for Kilmer, who had previously expressed his desire to return to the business, it also turned out to be a very well-paid one.

Kilmer’s actual remuneration for his role in Maverick is unknown; however, ScreenRant estimates that it varied from $400,000 to $2 million.

According to these sources, if Kilmer was paid a minimum of $400,000, he’d have made at least $2,222 each second throughout his 3-minute-long sequence.

And if he was paid up to $2 million, it would amount to a mind-boggling $11,111 every second.

Wow.

This comes after the Batman Forever star discussed his cancer diagnosis and the physical and emotional toll it had on him.

Kilmer described waking up ‘vomiting blood’ and contacting 911 before being diagnosed with cancer in his memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry.

“The disease miraculously recovered more quickly than any of the physicians projected,” he explained, adding, “It took time, and it took a toll. Speaking, which was once my passion and lifeline, has turned into an everyday effort.”

Kilmer then compared his new voice to ‘Marlon Brando after a couple of bottles of tequila’: “There is no frog in my throat.” “More akin to a buffalo.”