Tom Cruise has said he cried during his emotional scene with Val Kilmer in Top Gun: Maverick. Kilmer returned as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in the 2022 sequel, opposite Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, and the scene brought the two characters back together on screen. Cruise made the remark on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2023, and Kilmer died in April 2025.
One distinction matters for reading the story accurately. This was an on-screen reunion of characters, not a reunion of two men who had lost touch. Kilmer said in 2022 that he and Cruise had stayed friends since meeting on the original Top Gun.
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The scene in Top Gun: Maverick
Kilmer’s return was built around his own history. The scene uses typed words on a screen before Iceman speaks in a struggling voice. In a June 14, 2022 interview with Michael Ordoña, the Los Angeles Times reported that the scene reflects Kilmer’s health history.
Director Joseph Kosinski described how the moment played out on set. He said that after one of the takes, and the crew shot only a few, he noticed that both actors had tears in their eyes. In his words: “After one of the takes (we only did a few) I noticed that both Tom and Val had tears in their eyes. It felt like a genuine moment between two old friends.” The quote appeared in the same Los Angeles Times reporting.
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What Cruise said in 2023
On Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2023, Cruise described the scene in two short statements:
- “I just want to say that was pretty emotional. I’ve known Val for decades.”
- “I was crying. I got emotional.”
He explained that Kilmer instantly became Iceman again, and he praised Kilmer as a brilliant actor. The Independent reported on the appearance.
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![Top Gun: Maverick (Special Bonus Features) [Blu-ray] [Region Free]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/512FXJLF+bL._SL160_.jpg)
- Thrilling sequel to the 1986 classic Top Gun
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What Kilmer said about the friendship
Kilmer gave his own account to the Los Angeles Times in 2022. On the friendship, he said: “We are in touch and exchange Xmas gifts every year!” On the scene itself, he called it “Very personal and moving.”
Cruise’s “decades” and Kilmer’s account point the same way. The friendship began on the set of the 1986 film and, by Kilmer’s telling, continued through the years between the two films.
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From the 1986 original to the 2022 sequel
The reunion scene only makes sense against the first film. The two films differ in release year and in the role the Maverick–Iceman relationship plays.
| Detail | Top Gun (1986) | Top Gun: Maverick (2022) |
|---|---|---|
| Cruise’s character | Pete “Maverick” Mitchell | Pete “Maverick” Mitchell |
| Kilmer’s character | Tom “Iceman” Kazansky | Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, returning |
| Role of the Maverick–Iceman relationship | Introduces the rivalry, which develops into friendship | Carries that history forward in the reunion scene |
Watching the 1986 film first gives the reunion its weight, because the rivalry the sequel draws on is set up there.
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Kilmer’s death and Cruise’s tribute
Kilmer died in April 2025, after the sequel’s release and after Cruise’s 2023 comments. At CinemaCon on April 3, 2025, Cruise paid tribute to him, as the Associated Press reported. Cruise said:
“I really can’t tell you how much I admired his work, how much I thought of him as a human being, and how grateful and honored I was when he joined ‘Top Gun’ and then came back for ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’”
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