Tom Cruise Reflects on Reuniting with Val Kilmer for Top Gun: Maverick

Speaking to Sight and Sound, Tom Cruise opened up about his experience reuniting with Val Kilmer on the set of Top Gun: Maverick. Cruise, who is rumored to be dating actress Ana de Armas, shared his thoughts on working with Kilmer again after so many years.

He reminisced, “To come back all those years later, and it was amazing being on set for Top Gun: Maverick because it was like time had not passed. We were laughing and it was joyous. And then we started acting and it’s just, you see it… he became ‘Iceman’.”

Cruise praised Kilmer’s transformation into his iconic character, saying, “The power that this guy has, even not saying anything, to become that character. You see how even the sniff that he gave. He was ‘Iceman’.”

Reflecting on the experience, Cruise added, “It was very special, to say the least, for me personally. You take Iceman from the first film and you look at it here, that whole journey, he became ‘Iceman’. And he didn’t even have to speak. That’s what he’s able to do. Beautiful, really beautiful. A gift that he had and that he shared with all of us.”

Recalling Kilmer’s casting in the original Top Gun, Cruise shared, “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 Tony Scott was hunting him down and meeting in an elevator with Val, and he was like, ‘Please, Val, please.’ You just see what a great actor, charismatic guy he was. And in that scene, what I love about what he did and how he played it, he just knew that tone to hit.”

The chemistry between Cruise and Kilmer on screen is undeniable, and fans are eagerly anticipating their reunion in Top Gun: Maverick. With their shared history and mutual respect for each other’s talent, it’s clear that their on-screen partnership will be nothing short of spectacular.