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Tom Cruise tributed his Top Gun co-star Val Kilmer, who passed away recently, with an emotional message at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas, pausing his presentation of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning to honor the deceased actor.
Speaking at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Cruise started the Paramount Pictures panel with a heartfelt and personal speech. I would like to pay tribute to my dearest friend, Val Kilmer,” he explained. “I truly cannot state enough how much I admired what he did, how much I admired him as a human, and how humbled and lucky I felt having him in the initial Top Gun and coming back for Top Gun: Maverick. He made such a rich contribution to us all through his performances.”.
The crowd also witnessed a moment of silence in tribute to Kilmer’s memory. Cruise concluded the tribute by saying, “Thank you, Val. I wish you well on your next journey.”
Val Kilmer, age 65, died on Tuesday due to complications from pneumonia. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, and for several years had been fighting intense health complications, which ultimately left him with a tracheostomy tube that prevented him from speaking. Despite the medical woes, however, Kilmer returned in dazzling fashion to the screen in Top Gun: Maverick (2022), reprising his iconic role as Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky.
In that film, his scene with Cruise was one of the emotional highs, and Kilmer’s real condition being so deeply woven into the story. The moment, brief as it was, was praised by fans and critics alike. Kilmer has stated of the reunion, “Being next to [Tom] instantly makes you better. It was really special.”
Kilmer enjoyed a decades-long and genre-spanning career, from his initial success in Top Secret! To Oscar-winning turns in The Doors, Heat, and Tombstone. He also donned the cape and cowl in Batman Forever. His life was openly chronicled in the 2021 documentary Val, narrated mostly by his son, Jack Kilmer.
Cruise’s salute at CinemaCon was a nod to an old co-star, but it was also an expression of genuine respect between two actors whose bond went far beyond the cockpit. For Cruise and fans around the world, Kilmer’s legacy lives on, not just in films, but in the friendships and memories he helped create.
