Tom Cruise is paying his respects to his former co-star and “dear friend” Val Kilmer.
The actor made an appearance at CinemaCon Thursday in Las Vegas to promote “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.” But before he impressed the audience with a sneak peek of the upcoming action film, Cruise asked for a moment of silence for the late actor who died Tuesday.
“I’d like to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer,” Cruise, 62, said, according to E! News. “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.’”
Kilmer portrayed Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazanski in the 1986 “Top Gun” film starring Cruise as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. The two were rival fighter pilots who eventually became friends.
The film catapulted both Kilmer and Cruise’s careers, leading to a slew of box office hits for the two movie stars.
When the sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick” was released in 2022, Kilmer made a brief cameo as Iceman. The role would be his final acting credit.
During CinemaCon, Cruise took a moment to reflect on Kilmer’s friendship and success.
“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,” he said. “Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.”
E! News reported that Cruise praised Kilmer for his knack for storytelling and compared him to producer Irving Thalberg, a pioneer in the early years of cinema.
“This man forged through it all and was able to create epic adventures for global audiences,” Cruise said. “You are an artist for all time. You are our modern-day Thalberg.”
In a 2022 interview with Collider, Kilmer said it was a “pleasure” to have been able to reprise his role as Iceman and work with Cruise.
“We are paid to act and that’s what we did in the scene,” Kilmer said. “But doing so with a class act like Tom made it a pleasure, and less like work!”
Kilmer died at the age of 65 from pneumonia, his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, told the Associated Press.
“The Doors” star had previously been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015. While he had kept his diagnosis private at that time, he later shared it with the world in a 2021 documentary titled “Val” that chronicled his health issues.
Kilmer underwent a tracheostomy, which affected his ability to talk, and used a voice box to speak. In his “Top Gun: Maverick” scene, Iceman is also battling cancer when Maverick pays him a visit and asks for his advice on sending a crew member on a potential fatal mission. Iceman is seen typing, “It’s time to let go,” and Maverick emotionally says, “I don’t know how.”
He also has a speaking line, which, according to his daughter, was dubbed with the use of software company Sonantic, which re-created his voice.
While Kilmer shared that he was cancer-free in 2021, his family did not share if his pneumonia was related to his throat cancer battle.
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