‘Top Gun: Maverick’: Tom Cruise talks about his reunion with Val Kilmer in the sequel

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ aroused nostalgia in a large part of the public. That was one of the main reasons for its success. But not just for the audience. Now your protagonist Tom Cruise, has recognized what was one of the great moments when making the film: his meeting with Val Kilmer, that has defined it as moving.

During Cruise’s visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live last Friday, Cruise, who turned 60 last July, told host Jimmy Kimmel about the emotions surrounding his chance to work again with the 63-year-old Kilmer. “It was pretty emotional,” Cruise said. “I’ve known Val for decades, and for him to go back and play that character… he’s such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again.“.

“You look at him and it’s Icemanhe said of Kilmer’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ cameo, in which Cruise’s character Pete “Maverick” Mitchell searches for his old partner from years ago, Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, played by Kilmer. , for advice on how to handle that high-risk secret mission.” I couldn’t help but cry. I was touched,” Cruise admitted when asked by Kimmel if he cried while filming the scene. “He’s such a brilliant actor, I love his work.”

Val Kilmer’s health has deteriorated in recent years. The actor lost his voice due to throat cancer that was diagnosed in 2015. His career has been seen in the documentary ‘Val’, a perfect counterpoint to ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, where he also shows what life is like for the He was one of the great actors of the 80s and 90s.

Cruise commented in an interview last May that he felt “special” to reunite with Kilmer for the sequel to the film they made together in 1986: “I’ve always admired his work, his talent,” he said at the time, adding that :”We got together… we started laughing. It was special to have him back. meant a lot to me“.

For Kilmer, becoming Iceman once again was “like reuniting with a long-lost friend.”. Even after more than 30 years, the actor acknowledged, “characters never really go away. They live frozen. If you’ll excuse the pun,” he joked about his character’s name.

The success of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ has been dizzying: the film raised nearly 1.5 million dollars at the international box office. It has undoubtedly been one of the best films of 2022 since it was released last May. It is also one of the titles nominated for the Oscars 2023, and although it is difficult to win the Oscar,

A video of the Oscar nominees’ luncheon on February 15 showed Steven Spielberg telling Cruise that he “saved Hollywood’s ass” with the film. The filmmaker added that Cruise “could have saved theatrical distribution” entirely with the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 hit.

“Seriously, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ could have saved the entire movie industry,” the “The Fabelmans” director told Cruise in the video, which was originally posted by documentarian Kartiki Gonsalves on Instagram, and has been one of the most viral and commented moments in this last stretch of the awards race.

Below you can see the video of Cruise’s interview on the Jimmy Kimmel show.