Cruise and Kilmer met on the set of 1986’s “Top Gun,” in which they played Maverick and Iceman, rivals-turned-friends at the U.S. Navy’s Fighter Weapons School. “Top Gun” was a huge commercial success, earning $350 million globally — the highest-grossing film of the year — and making Cruise and Kilmer full-blown movie stars.

Near the end of his life, Val Kilmer was able to revisit one of his most famous roles: Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in Top Gun: Maverick. It was a character he initially had no interest in playing. Kilmer died on April 1 from pneumonia at the age of 65,