Tom Cruise pays tribute ‘Top Gun’ co-star Val Kilmer: “I can’t tell you how much I admire his work”
Tom Cruise has paid an emotional tribute to his Top Gun co-star Val Kilmer, who passed away on April 1st, 2025.
After battling throat cancer for a decade, Kilmer died of pneumonia at the age of 65. The actor had enjoyed a successful career in Hollywood, rising to prominence in the late 1980s with roles in Willow and Top Gun, playing Iceman, the former rival-turned-friend of Cruise’s protagonist Maverick.
Cruise recently appeared at CinemaCon, where he took some time to speak about his friend, as well as asking everyone to hold a minute’s silence for him.
Kilmer reprised his role as Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, which marked his final on-screen acting performance. Talking to a crowd at CinemaCon, Cruise said: “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.”
He continued, “I think it would be really nice if we could just 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.”
When Kilmer appeared in Top Gun: Maverick, his voice – which was severely damaged by various cancer treatments – was enhanced with AI.
Kilmer’s performance in Top Gun was a breakthrough moment in his career, leading him to star in many popular movies in the 1990s and beyond, such as The Doors, Heat, Tombstone, True Romance, and Batman Forever.
Cruise honoured Kilmer by ending the minute of silence by saying, “I wish you well on the next journey.”
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