Tom Cruise’s Heartfelt Tribute to Actor Friend: “It Feels Like Yesterday”

An Exceptional Actor Tom Cruise Will Never Forget

Throughout his career, Tom Cruise has rarely spoken so openly about the loss of a colleague as he has about Val Kilmer. Deeply moved by the passing of his cinematic rival in Top Gun and friend in real life, the actor known as much for his role as Maverick as Ethan Hunt has not forgotten the challenge he faced in convincing Kilmer, who would become Iceman, to join the action film. In 1986, Val Kilmer had not yet become the star of the enchanting movie Willow. As the youngest student from the demanding Juilliard School, he was ambitious. “We put a lot of effort into convincing him,” Cruise recalled. “Initially, he just didn’t want to do the movie: ‘I don’t want to be a secondary character.’ I called his agent, and Tony Scott chased him down and met him in an elevator, pleading, ‘Please, Val, please!’

Val Kilmer, A Career Bookended by Top Gun

Despite a career marked by bumps and failures, Val Kilmer leaves behind a collection of characters portrayed with extraordinary intensity. A “burning passion” that struck Tom Cruise: “I think he’s only in Top Gun for about 10 minutes. Such is the impact of an artist like him. I remember those scenes as if it were yesterday (…)! When you act with someone and you see that they are on fire, it’s thrilling.“

The actor who excelled as Jim Morrison took the failure of Oliver Stone’s biopic very hard. What followed? No major roles, financial ruin following the crisis, and throat cancer that robbed him of his voice at just 61 years old. While working on Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise did not forget him: he asked him to return as a twilight Iceman. “As soon as we started acting, he became Iceman again. The power this man has, even without speaking a word, to become that character!” remembered an admiring Tom Cruise. “He didn’t even need to speak,” Cruise said. Ready for a Top Gun marathon on Paramount+?