- Tom Cruise spoke about his friend and Top Gun co-star at CinemaCon
- Val Kilmer died earlier this week at the age of 65
- Kilmer’s last movie appearance was in Top Gun: Maverick with Cruise
Top Gun star Tom Cruise has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and co-star Val Kilmer, who died earlier this week at the age of 65.
Speaking at an appearance at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Cruise paused proceedings to have a moment of silence in honor of his “dear friend” Kilmer, before bowing his head, as reported by the BBC and others. The silence was impeccably observed by those in the theater. “Thank you, Val – wish you well on your next journey,” he added.
Cruise then talked about the respect he had for Kilmer. “I can’t tell you how much I admired his work, how much I thought of him as a human being and how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun,” he said.
Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer iconic movie together
Kilmer played Ice Man alongside Cruise’s Maverick in the iconic 1986 film. The pair were reunited in 2022’s sequel Top Gun: Maverick – which turned out to be Kilmer’s final appearance on the big screen.
Kilmer scaled back his acting commitments after having two tracheotomies during his treatment for throat cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2014. The surgeries affected his voice and meant he often required a voice box to speak afterwards.
A clip of Cruise talking about the final scene he shared with Kilmer on Top Gun: Maverick from back in 2022 went viral again this week in the wake of Kilmer’s passing. In it, Cruise, talking to Jimmy Kimmel, spoke about how emotional he got about it.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the media he died of pneumonia on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Cruise is the latest star to pay tribute to the late actor. Many took to social media to express their sorrow after the news broke on Tuesday, including director Michael Mann and fellow actor Josh Brolin.
Cruise gives sneak peak
The comments from Cruise came during a presentation by Paramount Pictures at CinemaCon. In his appearance on stage, he also revealed a trailer for the upcoming Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which is set to be released later this year. He also honoured Christopher McQuarrie, who is directing the movie, who was named CinemaCon’s director of the year.
