By Gavin Boyle
While promoting an upcoming movie at Cinema Con, Tom Cruise took a moment to honor his longtime friend Val Kilmer who died last Tuesday.
“I’d like to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer, for a moment,” Cruise said while onstage, per The Hollywood Reporter. “I can’t tell you how much I admired his work…If we just all take a moment to remember the wonderful time we had with him — let’s just take a moment. I wish you well on your next journey.”
Cruise and Kilmer starred alongside each other on the original TOP GUN movie, and Kilmer made a short cameo for the sequel, bringing Cruise to tears.
“I just want to say that was pretty emotional,” Cruise said in February 2023 when speaking about their reunion. “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. He’s such a brilliant actor, and I love his work.”
Kilmer had also shared his excitement for the cameo and a chance to share the screen with Cruise again in 2023’s TOP GUN: MAVERICK.
Related: Val Kilmer Reflects on Reprising His Role As Iceman In TOP GUN: MAVERICK
“We were all so young during the making of the first movie, but even then there was a special bond between us all,” Kilmer told Entertainment Weekly, recalling his time on the first movie. “Even after shooting we would laugh and dance the night away!”
“Obviously [we] spent a lot of time on that scene, writing it, getting ready,” added director Joseph Kosinski, speaking about Kilmer and Cruise’s scene in MAVERICK. “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.”
Kilmer died surrounded by his friends and family after losing a battle with pneumonia. The actor had previously beat throat cancer in 2014, undergoing two tracheostomies. He had a long acting career with over 100 roles throughout his time in the industry. Kilmer also shot a documentary about his life where he recalled how every step in his journey shaped who he became.
Many in the industry have shared their grief at his loss. Please keep Kilmer’s friends and family in your prayers as they process his passing.
Read Next: TOP GUN’s Val Kilmer Dies After Living ‘Blessed’ Life
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