Tom Cruise Remembers Top Gun Costar Val Kilmer: 'A Dear Friend Of Mine'

Maverick is remembering his wingman.

The world is mourning this week after the death of iconic movie star Val Kilmer, and now the man responsible for his final film appearance is breaking his silence on the unimaginable loss: his Top Gun costar Tom Cruise.

On Thursday, the 62-year-old attended CinemaCon in Las Vegas where he took a moment to “honor” his “dear friend”:

“I’d like to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer, for a moment. I can’t tell you how much I admired his work. If we just all take a moment to remember the wonderful time we had with him — let’s just take a moment.”

Tom had everyone join him for a moment of silence to pay tribute to Val before he concluded:

“I wish you well on your next journey.”

Aww…

The two actors first became pals on the set of the 1986 film Top Gun, then had what Tom described as an “emotional” reunion 36 years later on Top Gun: Maverick. He told Jimmy Kimmel at the time:

“I just want to say that was pretty emotional. I’ve known Val for decades, and for him to come back and play that character … he’s such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again.”

Tom was the one who insisted Val return for Top Gun: Maverick despite his cancer almost completely preventing him from speaking. And their final scene together hit fans like a ton of bricks.