It was a scene that brought tears to Tom Cruise's eyes.
The moment two close friends — once bitter fictional rivals — reunited on-screen.
"I just want to say that was pretty emotional," Cruise reflected on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
"I was crying. I was crying."
Cruise first met Val Kilmer in 1986 on the set of high-octane blockbuster Top Gun.
Decades later, in 2022, the pair reunited for the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.
In one of the film's most memorable scenes, Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, played by Cruise, meets with Kilmer's character, Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky.
He's asking for advice on how to handle Rooster, the wild son of his former wingman, Goose.
"The only reason I'm here, is you," Cruise's character Maverick says in the scene, tears in his eyes.
It was a powerful moment — a moving reflection of the pair's almost 40-year friendship off-screen.
It also touched on Kilmer's real-life health struggles.
The character of Iceman, like Kilmer, had throat cancer and typed words on a screen to communicate.
Artificial voice technology was also used in post-production to allow Kilmer to speak during his brief cameo.
For Cruise, and countless viewers, the scene packed an emotional punch.
"I've known Val for decades. He's such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again," he told Jimmy Kimmel.
"You're looking at Iceman."
It was the last glimpse the world would get of Kilmer on the silver screen.
On April 1, aged 65, he died in Los Angeles of pneumonia.
And the curtain closed on a decades-long friendship between Kilmer and Cruise.
From frosty beginnings to lifelong friendship
Cruise and Kilmer weren't always close friends.
In fact, their relationship had a frosty start.
However, Kilmer said this wasn't personal but stemmed from his fascination with method acting.
Even when the cameras were off, he'd act hostile towards his co-stars.
"I would purposely play up the rivalry between Tom's character and mine off-screen as well," he said in the 2021 documentary Val.
"And what ended up happening is the actors, in true method fashion, split into two distinct camps.
"You had Maverick and Goose on one side, Slider, Hollywood, Wolfman and me, Iceman, on the other."
In his memoir I'm Your Huckleberry, Kilmer wrote that Cruise also refrained from "revelry" during the filming of Top Gun.
He said this was because Cruise was "laser-focused" on becoming "the greatest action hero in the history of film".
"He was up nights learning lines; he spent every waking hour perfecting his stunts," Kilmer wrote.
"His dedication was admirable. Of course, even more admirable is the fact that he achieved his goal."
Kilmer also shared in his memoir about a "small prank" he played on Cruise during filming.
"I gave him an extremely expensive bottle of champagne but placed it in the middle of a giant field and made him follow scavenger-hunt-style clues to find it," he said.
"I hid behind a bleacher and watched him lug the giant crate to his motorcycle. He never did thank me for the Iceman-style bit. I thought it would break the ice, but I guess the ice was just right."
Reuniting for Top Gun sequel
In an interview via email with the LA Times in 2022, Kilmer said the duo had remained friends since.
"We talked quite a bit about what was best for the story [of Top Gun: Maverick] and I think they got it right at the end," Kilmer wrote of Cruise.
"Tom and I get along really well. We giggled like little kids in school between takes.
"I consider him a real friend."
That same year, Kilmer posted a still from the Top Gun sequel with the caption: "36 years later… I'm still your wingman."
Speaking to the LA Times, Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski said the two actors often reflected on their shared history.
"When we weren't shooting, they were sharing funny stories with [producer] Jerry [Bruckheimer] about making the original film," he said.
"I think at the time they were a bit competitive with each other, but now it's something they can just laugh about."
He said the sequel was a genuine reflection of the duo's relationship.
"I think there is a lot of Maverick in Tom, and Iceman in Val, so what you are seeing on-screen is an authentic friendship that has lasted over 36 years," he said.
"After one of the takes … I noticed that both Tom and Val had tears in their eyes. It felt like a genuine moment between two old friends."
