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Tom Cruise Moved to Tears During TOP GUN: MAVERICK Reunion With Val Kilmer

Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.

Tom Cruise Moved to Tears During TOP GUN: MAVERICK Reunion With Val Kilmer

By Movieguide® Contributor

In a recent interview, Tom Cruise revealed how his reunion with Val Kilmer on the set of TOP GUN: MAVERICK brought him to tears.

“I just want to say that was pretty emotional,” Cruise said. “I’ve known Val for decades. For him to come back and play that character…he’s such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again. You’re looking at Iceman.”

“I was crying, I got emotional,” Cruise continued. “He’s such a brilliant actor, and I love his work.”

Kilmer was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, requiring chemotherapy and two tracheotomies. Kilmer is now cancer free but speaks with the use of a voice box.

In the 2022 blockbuster hit, Kilmer’s character, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, speaks through a computer, due to an unspecified illness.

Kilmer played Cruise’s rival in the original TOP GUN, leading to fierce competition throughout the naval aviator training program. They reconcile towards the end of the movie when Cruise saves Kilmer’s life, earning his respect.

The two stars have remained friends since working on the original film in 1986.

Movieguide® nominated TOP GUN: MAVERICK for the Faith and Freedom Award® for Movies at this year’s Movieguide® Awards. Part of Movieguide®’s review reads:

TOP GUN: MAVERICK is a terrific, powerful, exciting movie. It’s full of high drama and heart-pounding action scenes. This role was made for Tom Cruise. He gets great support from Miles Teller as Goose’s son and Jennifer Connelly as Maverick’s romantic interest. TOP GUN: MAVERICK has a strong moral, Pro-American, patriotic worldview. It also tells a strong redemptive story leading to sacrifice, forgiveness and reconciliation. However, TOP GUN: MAVERICK is marred by too many obscenities and three strong profanities. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises strong or extreme caution.

Movieguide® previously reported on Kilmer’s role in TOP GUN: MAVERICK:

Original TOP GUN star Val Kilmer jumped at the opportunity to star alongside his on-screen wingman Tom Cruise in the TOP GUN: MAVERICK.

Kilmer reprised his role as Tom “Iceman” Kasansky and said that it felt like “no time had passed at all” between the 1986 original and its sequel.

“Tom called me. I said yes immediately,” he told Entertainment Weekly.

Kilmer added: “We blew a lot of takes laughing so much,” he continued. “It was really fun … special.”

The 62-year-old actor recalled his close relationship with Cruise, who played Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in both movies, began early in their careers.

“We were all so young during the making of the first movie, but even then there was a special bond between us all,” Kilmer said. “Even after shooting we would laugh and dance the night away!”

Like his real-life circumstances, Kilmer portrays Iceman as having throat cancer. Director Joseph Kosinski said Kilmer integrated the retired pilot into the movie in “a really authentic way.”

“Obviously [we] spent a lot of time on that scene, writing it, getting ready,” Kosinski added of Kilmer and Cruise’s scene in the movie. “I wasn’t sure how it was going to work. … It’s a really beautiful scene. We shot it in Los Angeles in a really beautiful house up on a park. Very special to see not only Val and Tom, but Maverick and Iceman back on the screen together.”


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