Top Gun and Alien star Tom Skerritt dies aged 93 as family pays heartbreaking tribute to Hollywood legend
The Emmy-winning actor, who played memorable roles alongside Tom Cruise, Sigourney Weaver and Sally Field, enjoyed a remarkable career spanning more than six decades across Hollywood films, television and Broadway.
Tom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning Hollywood actor best known for his roles in Top Gun, Alien and the television drama Picket Fences, has died aged 93.
Leaving behind a career spanning more than six decades in film, television and theatre, the American actor died on Wednesday (21.10.26) of natural causes, according to his family, who confirmed his death in a statement.
Tom became one of Hollywood’s most recognisable character actors, playing commanding officers, lawmen and family patriarchs opposite some of cinema’s biggest stars. His performances included the flight instructor Mike ‘Viper’ Metcalf in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, Captain Arthur Dallas in Ridley Scott’s 1979 science-fiction horror classic Alien, and Sheriff Jimmy Brock in the CBS drama Picket Fences.
In their statement announcing his death, his family said: “While the world knew Tom through his remarkable acting career, we knew him for his humour, curiosity, wisdom, generosity and the love he brought into our lives. He cared deeply about imagination, creativity, storytelling, service, veterans, the natural world and helping others find and share their own voices.”
Tom appeared alongside Tom Cruise, now 64, in Top Gun, playing the experienced naval aviator responsible for training a new generation of fighter pilots.
The film, directed by Tony Scott, also starred Val Kilmer as Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, Kelly McGillis as Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Blackwood and Anthony Edwards as Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw.
Its success made Top Gun one of the defining Hollywood action films of the 1980s and established Tom’s character as a memorable authority figure opposite Cruise’s rebellious Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell.
The franchise returned to cinemas in 2022 with Top Gun: Maverick, directed by Joseph Kosinski, which reunited Cruise with Kilmer and introduced Miles Teller as Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw, the son of Maverick’s late friend Goose.
Tom did not reprise his role in the sequel.
He also played a central role in Alien, starring alongside Sigourney Weaver, now 77, as Ellen Ripley, and John Hurt as Kane.
As captain of the commercial spacecraft Nostromo, Tom’s character led a crew whose investigation of a mysterious signal brought them into contact with a deadly extraterrestrial creature.
The film became a landmark of science-fiction cinema and launched a franchise that continued with Aliens, Alien 3, Alien: Resurrection and, more recently, the 2024 film Alien: Romulus, directed by Fede Álvarez and starring Cailee Spaeny, now 28.
His television career brought further recognition when he took the lead role in Picket Fences, which ran from 1992 to 1996.
The series, created by David E. Kelley, followed the personal and professional lives of residents in the fictional town of Rome, Wisconsin.
Tom received two Emmy nominations for his performance as Sheriff Jimmy Brock and won the award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series in 1993.
His other film credits included The Turning Point, in which he played the husband of Shirley MacLaine, now 92, and Steel Magnolias, where he appeared as the husband of Sally Field, now 79, alongside Julia Roberts, now 58, and Dolly Parton, 80.
In the 1997 science-fiction drama Contact, directed by Robert Zemeckis, Tom played David Drumlin, a scientist who clashes with Jodie Foster’s character, Ellie Arroway, over her efforts to establish contact with extraterrestrial intelligence.
Reflecting on his ability to move between leading and supporting roles, Tom told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 1997: “A writer once described me as a character actor locked in a leading man’s body, and I’ve always loved that. It’s a nice compliment. I’ve been able to walk the line between television and features.”
His earlier work included Robert Altman’s 1970 film MASH*, in which he played Duke Forrest, and the 1992 drama A River Runs Through It, directed by Robert Redford and starring Brad Pitt, now 62.
Tom also maintained a theatre career, appearing as the narrator in a 2004 production of Our Town at Seattle’s Intiman Theatre.
He made his Broadway debut in 2013 in a stage adaptation of John Grisham’s A Time to Kill.
Away from acting, Tom supported military veterans and helped establish the Red Badge Project, an organisation that uses storytelling and creative writing to assist veterans.
His later screen work included the 2025 film Broke, starring Wyatt Russell, now 40, and Dennis Quaid, now 72.
Tom is survived by his wife, Julie Tokashiki, his five children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
