Tom Cruise holds moment of silence for ‘dear friend’ Val Kilmer

Cruise was appearing at CinemaCon in Las Vegas to promote â??Mission: Impossible â?? The Final Reckoningâ??

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Tom Cruise held a moment of silence for his late Top Gun co-star Val Kilmer at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, telling the audience he’d lost a “dear friend.”

Kilmer died of pneumonia on Tuesday at the age of 65.

Cruise was appearing at the annual convention of movie theater owners at Caesars Palace to promote his next film, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

Variety reports that before recounting some of the stunts that appear in the new movie, Cruise asked the audience to join him in a moment of silence for Kilmer.

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

After the moment of contemplation, Cruise added: “I wish you well on the next journey.”

Tom Cruise holds a moment of silence at CinemaCon for Val Kilmer, pictured right in 2008 ( Getty)

Two years ago, Cruise revealed just how emotional his reunion with his old co-star was on the set of Top Gun: Maverick.

Kilmer had been diagnosed with cancer in 2015. After successfully undergoing chemotherapy and two tracheotomies, Kilmer spoke with the use of a voice box.

When he reunited with Cruise in Maverick, his character, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, was seen speaking through a computer due to an unspecified illness.

“I just want to say that was pretty emotional. I’ve known Val for decades,” Cruise said while appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2023.

“For him to come back and play that character… he’s such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again. You’re looking at Iceman.”

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“I was crying. I got emotional,” Cruise admitted. “He’s such a brilliant actor, and I love his work.”

In the original Top Gun, Iceman is Maverick’s chief rival in the naval aviator training program. Maverick eventually earns Iceman’s respect after saving his life, leading Kilmer to the immortal phrase: “You can be my wingman anytime.”

In 2022, Kilmer shared a still from the movie on Instagram with the poignant caption: “36 years later… I’m still your wingman <3.”

Cruise previously revealed that he “rallied hard” to get Kilmer into the first action movie.

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