Tom Cruise remembered Top Gun co-star Val Kilmer by leading a heartfelt moment of silence, following his death this week.
The 65-year-old, who famously played Iceman in the 1986 action film alongside Cruise, died in LA on April 1, after being ‘bedridden’ for years.
His cause of death was confirmed as pneumonia, his daughter told the New York Times, sharing that he had previously recovered from a battle with throat cancer.
Cruise, 62, paid tribute to his ‘dear friend’ and former colleague as he appeared at CinemaCon in Las Vegas earlier today, to promote the upcoming Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning instalment.
‘I’d like to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer,’ he told the gathered crowd at Ceaser’s Palace, via Variety.
‘I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honored I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
‘I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.’
‘I wish you well on the next journey,’ he added.
Top Gun served as Kilmer’s breakout role, and catapulted him to worldwide fame, with the 80s flick grossing more than $344million at the global box office.
In the movie, he played the nemesis to Cruise’s Maverick, and they spent much of the time battling it out over their fighter pilot skills.
From there, he then went to land parts in Willow, The Doors, Heat and Batman Forever.
Cruise previously shared that he was the driving force behind Kilmer’s appearance, as he wasn’t too keen on the role at first.
‘In the first one, I really rallied hard for him to be in the movie, because he’s such a tremendous actor, and [I wanted] to have him play that character,’ he explained to Entertainment Tonight.
‘I told [director] Tony [Scott], “You’ve got to go and tackle this guy!” I said, “Val, you’ve got to make this movie. You’re going to be amazing.” That’s the kind of talent that he has.’
The late star returned to his roots in 2022 by reprising his role as Iceman in blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, cementing their big screen reunion.
The emotional cameo served as his final acting role, and left his castmate in floods of tears.
‘I just want to say that was pretty emotional,’ Cruise said during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2023. ‘I’ve known Val for decades, and for him to come back and play that character…
‘He’s such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again.
‘You’re just looking at Iceman.’
‘I was crying, I was crying,’ he added of Iceman’s death scenes. ‘I got emotional. He’s such a brilliant actor, I love his work.’
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