Tom Cruise pays emotional tribute to Val Kilmer

Tom Cruise has paid an emotional tribute to late co-star Val Kilmer.

Hollywood was rocked this week by the news that Kilmer had died at the age of 65 on Tuesday following a battle against pneumonia.

On Thursday, 62-year-old Cruise was a surprise guest at CinemaCon in Las Vegas - where major film studios have been showcasing their upcoming films.

Taking to the stage at the Colosseum in the Nevada city, Cruise asked the audience to "take a moment" to reflect on Kilmer's life - and made reference to their appearances in the Top Gun film series.

The action star told the crowd, per Deadline, "I'd like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer.

"I really can't tell you how much I admire his work, how much I thought of him as a human being, how honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back for Top Gun: Maverick.

"I think it would be great if we could all just take a moment and think about all the wonderful times we had with him. Would you all mind doing that? Let's just take a moment."

After leading the crowd in a moment of silence, Cruise concluded, "We wish you well on your next journey."

Kilmer played LT Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky in the 1986 film Top Gun - in which Cruise played LT Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell.

The stars were reunited 36 years later as they both appeared in the sequel film Top Gun: Maverick, which was released in 2022.