Tom CruisehonoredTop Gunco-star,Val Kilmer, at CinemaCon 2025, leading attendees in a moment of silence to pay respect to his friend and one of Hollywood’s true leading men.Kilmer, who died on Tuesday, April 1, from pneumonia, starred inTop Gunas Iceman alongside Cruise, who played Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, in the 1986 action movie which quickly became the highest-grossing film of the year. Before his death, Kilmer recovered from a 2014 cancer diagnosis that required two tracheotomies. His daughter toldThe Associated Pressthat he was surrounded by his family and friends in Los Angeles.
Tom Cruise appeared at CinemaCon in Las Vegas to tease new material fromMission Impossible — The Final Reckoning. However, before that, the actor made it his mission to think about the moments Kilmer graced everyone with hispresence on the big screen. According to PEOPLE, Cruise said:
“I’d like to take a moment before we get started today to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer,” the actor began, which garnered a round of applause from the audience. “I can’t tell you how much I admired his work and him as a human being, how grateful and honored I was that he joinedTop Gunand came back forTop Gun: Maverick.”
Tom Cruise Says He Cried During His Reunion With Val Kilmer
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Cruise added that Kilmer loved movies and that a moment of silence for his friend wouldgracefully honor himin a way Kilmer would appreciate.
“I think it would be really nice if we could just have a moment all together and just take a moment because he loved movies, and he gave a lot to all of us with his performances with his films. If we could all just take a moment and just think about all the wonderful times we had with him.” Afterward, Cruise concluded with, “Thank you, Val. I wish you well on your next journey. Thank you all for doing that. I know he appreciates it.”
Val Kilmer Called Tom Cruise His “Long-Lost Friend”
TheTop Gunduo built a connection so strong that Cruise pushed for Kilmer to return for the 2022 sequel,Top Gun: Maverick.Producer, Jerry Bruckheimer told PEOPLE that Tom said, “We have to have Val, we have to have him back.” While appearing onJimmy Kimmel Livein 2023, Cruise described howemotional it was filming his reunionscene with Kilmer.
Being co-stars is one thing; becoming friends is another. ForVal Kilmer and Tom Cruise, their bond went beyond the fictional on-screen rivalry of Iceman and Maverick. When the two reunited forTop Gun: Maverick, Val described it as “like being reunited with a long-lost friend.” What’s even more heartfelt is learning that the highlight of Kilmer’sTop Gunexperience was working with Cruise. Both actors valued each other’s performance and overall work, which could be felt through previous interviews.
In 2022, when Tom Cruise celebrated his 60th birthday, Val took to X (formerly Twitter) to give him a special shoutout, writing, “Happy Birthday Mav @TomCruise from Ice.” He also said that the two had home movies to prove just how much fun they had filming the iconic action-adventure film.
Source:PEOPLE
