Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer’s decades-long 'dear' friendship remembered

10 April 2025, 13:30 | Updated: 10 April 2025, 13:42

Tom Cruise mourned the passing of his "dear friend" and Top Gun rival Val Kilmer in April 2025.

Top Gun stars Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer shared a special friendship which lasted decades until Val’s death in April 2025.

The Hollywood legends first met on the set of the first Top Gun film in 1986, and reunited over 35 years later to film a scene for the 80s film’s long-awaited sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.

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• Hollywood actor Val Kilmer dies aged 65

And while the two actors only shared the screen twice together, it’s clear playing rivals in Top Gun - a film which propelled both actors to greater stardom - led to the pair sharing a special connection for the rest of their years.

Watch the trailer for Top Gun

“A dear friend”

During a recent appearance at Las Vegas’ CinemaCon to promote the next Mission Impossible movie, Tom paused the event (which occurred just days after Val Kilmer’s death) to say: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer.

“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,” the 62-year-old said.

Calling for a moment’s silence in memory of the 65-year-old, who passed away on April 1, he continued: “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,” Variety reports.

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“Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him,” Tom added, wishing Val “well on the next journey”.

Emotional reunion

Tom Cruise detailed one of his “wonderful” memories of being with Val while promoting Top Gun’s sequel in 2022.

Val’s appearance in the film was his last film credit, and came after the Batman Forever star had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015.

As a result of his treatment, the actor lost most of his voice, leading to his lines in the film requiring digital alteration for greater clarity.

Tom was reportedly the creative who pushed most for Iceman to make a return in Maverick, and described the moment the pair reunited on set in 2018 as “pretty emotional”.

“I’ve known Val for decades,” he said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in February 2023. “For him to come back and play that character... he’s such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again...

“I was crying, I got emotional,” he added. “He’s such a brilliant actor, I love his work.”

Fake rivalry

Val also fondly recalled his reunion with Cruise in his memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry, which was released in 2020.

“Cruise couldn’t have been cooler,” he wrote, admitting he’d “begged” to be invited back to the Top Gun team to film something in the sequel.

Watch the trailer for Top Gun: Maverick

“Tom and I took up where we left off. The reunion felt great.”

Reminiscing about the pair’s relationship while filming the first film, Val revealed the cast used to “purposely play up the rivalry between Tom’s character and [Iceman] off screen.

“What ended up happening is the actors, in true method fashion, split into two distinct camps.

“You had Maverick and Goose on one side, and Slider, Hollywood, Wolfman and me, Iceman, on the other,” he revealed.

But this was just a game, the actor conceded, admitting: “In reality I’ve always thought of Tom as a friend, and we’ve always supported each other.”