Overview

• Michael Schur revealed that Tom Cruise was just eight seconds too late to make a surprise walk-on during Val Kilmer's Top Gun sketch on SNL in December 2000.
• The cameo idea emerged spontaneously during the live broadcast, with producer Marci Klein proposing Cruise’s involvement while the sketch was underway.
• The sketch, written by Schur and Robert Carlock, humorously imagined Kilmer’s Iceman character piloting mundane Delta Airlines flights 25 years after Top Gun.
• Val Kilmer, who passed away from pneumonia on April 2, 2025, at age 65, was celebrated for his comedic versatility during his SNL hosting episode.
• Tom Cruise led a moment of silence for Kilmer at CinemaCon, reflecting on their decades-long friendship and their 2022 on-screen reunion in Top Gun: Maverick.