Tom Cruise Honors ‘Dear Friend’ Val Kilmer in Emotional Tribute

Tom Cruise took some during his appearance at CinemaCon to pay tribute to his Top Gun co-star Val Kilmer, who passed away on Wednesday.

The Batman Forever and Heat actor died on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. Just 65 years old, the actor has publicly battled throat cancer for several years and has been open about his health struggles. His daughter confirmed that he passed away due to pneumonia.

What did Tom Cruise say about Val Kilmer?

During his appearance at CinemaCon for his upcoming Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (via Variety), Cruise asked the crowd in attendance to join him in a moment of silence for his late co-star and friend. Before it, Cruise praised Kilmer as someone who’s work he always admired, and how honored he was to get to work with him.

“I’d like to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer,” 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.’ 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.”

Following the moment of silence, Cruise wished Kilmer well on his “next journey.”

Cruise and Kilmer met while on set of the 1986 classic action film Top Gun, where the pair played rival fighter pilows Maverick and Iceman, respectively. The pair would go on to become friends, and reunited for 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, which would be Kilmer’s final on-screen appearance. The actor was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015, and lost most of his ability to speak as a result.

(Source: Variety)

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