Tom Cruise honours Val Kilmer: ‘I wish you well on the next journey’
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During an appearance at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Tom Cruise paid tribute to his Top Gun co-star Val Kilmer, who died this week at the age of 65 after a battle with pneumonia.
Cruise was on hand at the event for movie exhibitors to drum up interest in his upcoming eighth entry in his stunt-heavy Mission: Impossible franchise, but he took a moment to honour Kilmer as he asked the crowd to pause for a moment of silence for his fellow actor.
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“I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer,” Cruise said from the stage at Caesars Palace, according to Variety. “I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured 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.”
Cruise concluded his salute with one final toast, saying, “I wish you well on the next journey.”
As two of the biggest emerging stars of the 1980s, Cruise and Kilmer played rival fighter pilots Maverick and Iceman in 1986’s Top Gun.
In his 2020 memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry, Kilmer revealed that he originally didn’t want to appear in the movie.
“I didn’t want the part. I didn’t care about the film. The story didn’t interest me,” Kilmer wrote, according to PEOPLE. “My agent, who also represented Tom Cruise, basically tortured me into at least meeting Tony Scott, saying he was one of the hottest directors in town.”
When it came time for his audition, Kilmer recalled how he “showed up looking the fool” wearing a pair of “oversize gonky Australian shorts in nausea green.”
“I read the lines indifferently. And yet, amazingly, I was told I had the part. I felt more deflated than inflated. I had to get out of there.”
In his 2021 autobiographical documentary Val, Kilmer said he didn’t anticipate the film’s worldwide box office success.
“None of us knew at the time what a crazy commercial success the film would be,” Kilmer said. “All of a sudden I was being catapulted into the celebrity stratosphere, and for the rest of my life I would be called Iceman by every pilot at every airport I went to.”
Kilmer returned for a brief cameo as Iceman in the 2022 sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. He told PEOPLE returning to the role was “like being reunited with a long lost friend.”
Maverick was a box office smash and a third Top Gun is in the works. But Cruise said his reunion with Kilmer left him in tears during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
“I just want to say that was pretty emotional. I’ve known Val for decades,” Cruise said. “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.”
Two days after his daughter Mercedes Kilmer confirmed her dad’s death to the New York Times and Associated Press, Kilmer’s family issued a statement thanking fans for their support.
“Thank you for honouring our extraordinary father’s memory,” they wrote in a message shared with PEOPLE. “We are so proud of him and honoured to see his legacy celebrated. At this time, we would like to grieve privately.”
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