Be Moved By Tom Cruise's Touching Tribute to Val Kilmer

There are many things I respect about Tom Cruise, the actor, but close to the top is how well he treats the people he's worked with in the past. When Top Gun: Maverick came out, there was no part of me that believed Val Kilmer would be in the movie, given his cancer struggles at the time. But there he was, in one of the most pivotal scenes in the movie. Cruise recently opened up to Sight and Sound on his relationship with the late Kilmer, and their work together on that movie and its predecessor. Cruise said, "First of all, I felt so grateful that he decided to make the film. We did a lot to get him in the movie. Originally, he just didn't want to make the movie: 'I don't want to be a supporting, I want to star in films.' I was calling his agent, and [director] Tony Scott was hunting him down and meeting in an elevator with Val, and he was like, 'Please, Val, please.'"Of course, Kilmer was in that movie and crushed his scenes. It was also an amazing look at the characters' relationships with one another, which felt very inspiring and added depth to the movie. In the original Top Gun, the two guys play rivals. Cruise said of Kilmer's first performance, "What I love about what he did and how he played it [was] he just knew that tone to hit." Cruise continued, "He had to play it so you wanted these guys to be friends in the end. Do you know what I'm saying? And I remember those scenes like they were yesterday, acting with him, where he did the bite thing."He elaborated, "When you're acting with somebody and you just see they're just on fire, it's exhilarating. I love when the scene just goes to a different place. If you look at Top Gun, I think he's in the movie maybe 10 minutes. That's the impact of an artist like that."This isn't the first time Cruise has waxed about his late friend. At CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Cruise said, "I'd like to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I really can't tell you how much I admired his work, how much I thought of him as a human, and how grateful and honored I was when he joined [the] first Top Gun and came back for Top Gun: Maverick. He gave a lot to all of us with his performances."Like I said at the top, Cruise's love and admiration for his co-star are wonderful, and making sure he was in the second Top Gun Movie, where he got to perform without saying a word, is amazing. Let me know what you think in the comments.

May 12, 2025 - 22:30

Be Moved By Tom Cruise's Touching Tribute to Val Kilmer

There are many things I respect about Tom Cruise, the actor, but close to the top is how well he treats the people he's worked with in the past.

When Top Gun: Maverick came out, there was no part of me that believed Val Kilmer would be in the movie, given his cancer struggles at the time. But there he was, in one of the most pivotal scenes in the movie.

Cruise recently opened up to Sight and Sound on his relationship with the late Kilmer, and their work together on that movie and its predecessor.

Cruise said, "First of all, I felt so grateful that he decided to make the film. We did a lot to get him in the movie. Originally, he just didn't want to make the movie: 'I don't want to be a supporting, I want to star in films.' I was calling his agent, and [director] Tony Scott was hunting him down and meeting in an elevator with Val, and he was like, 'Please, Val, please.'"

Of course, Kilmer was in that movie and crushed his scenes. It was also an amazing look at the characters' relationships with one another, which felt very inspiring and added depth to the movie.

In the original Top Gun, the two guys play rivals. Cruise said of Kilmer's first performance, "What I love about what he did and how he played it [was] he just knew that tone to hit." Cruise continued, "He had to play it so you wanted these guys to be friends in the end. Do you know what I'm saying? And I remember those scenes like they were yesterday, acting with him, where he did the bite thing."

He elaborated, "When you're acting with somebody and you just see they're just on fire, it's exhilarating. I love when the scene just goes to a different place. If you look at Top Gun, I think he's in the movie maybe 10 minutes. That's the impact of an artist like that."

This isn't the first time Cruise has waxed about his late friend. At CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Cruise said, "I'd like to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I really can't tell you how much I admired his work, how much I thought of him as a human, and how grateful and honored I was when he joined [the] first Top Gun and came back for Top Gun: Maverick. He gave a lot to all of us with his performances."

Like I said at the top, Cruise's love and admiration for his co-star are wonderful, and making sure he was in the second Top Gun Movie, where he got to perform without saying a word, is amazing.

Let me know what you think in the comments.