Tom Cruise paid tribute to his late Prime Gun co-star Val Kilmer final evening (April 3), who died earlier this week, aged 65.
Kilmer handed away on Tuesday (April 1) after a battle with pneumonia, as confirmed by his daughter Mercedes. He had been recognized with throat most cancers in 2014, however later made a restoration.
Honouring his pal at CinemaCon at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, which he attended to advertise Mission: Inconceivable – The Remaining Reckoning, Cruise requested the gang to affix him in a second of silence for Kilmer.
“I’d prefer to honour an expensive pal of mine, Val Kilmer,” he stated. “I can’t inform you how a lot I like his work, how grateful and honoured I used to be when he joined Prime Gun and got here again later for Prime Gun: Maverick.
“I believe it might be very nice if we might have a second collectively as a result of he liked films and he gave rather a lot to all of us. Simply sort of take into consideration all of the fantastic instances that we had with him.”
Cruise added: “Thanks, Val – want you properly in your subsequent journey.”
The duo met on the set of 1986’s Prime Gun, during which they performed rival fighter pilots Maverick and Iceman. Kilmer returned for an emotional scene that ended up being the actor’s closing on-screen look within the 2022 sequel Prime Gun: Maverick.
Cruise himself beforehand shared that the scene was a “fairly emotional” expertise for him.
Kilmer was additionally identified for his roles as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Endlessly, Jim Morrison in The Doorways, Perry Van Shrike in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and extra.
Previous to his demise, Kilmer shot an intimate documentary titled Val, during which he shared his story about his battle with most cancers and shedding his voice. The documentary was launched in 2021.
Amongst those that paid tribute to the late star following his demise had been director Michael Mann, who Kilmer labored with on the 1995 heist drama Warmth, Josh Brolin and The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola.
