Tom Skerritt, actor in Alien and Top Gun, dies aged 93
American actor Tom Skerritt, known for roles in Alien and Top Gun, has died aged 93. His publicist said the cause was natural causes.
Tom Skerritt, the American actor known to film audiences for roles in the sci-fi horror Alien and the fighter-pilot film Top Gun, has died at the age of 93. His publicist told Variety that he died of natural causes.
A family statement shared with People said the world knew Skerritt through his acting career, while relatives remembered him for his humour, curiosity, wisdom and generosity, and for the love he brought into their lives.
Career
Over more than 60 years, Skerritt amassed more than 170 film and television credits. He won an Emmy and received nominations for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award.
After a four-year tour of duty in the US air force, he made his screen debut in the 1962 war film War Hunt alongside Robert Redford and Sydney Pollack. His breakout came in 1970 in Robert Altman's satire MAS*H, which was a major box office hit and was nominated for the best picture Oscar.
In the 1970s he also appeared in Harold and Maude, Thieves Like Us, Big Bad Mama and The Turning Point. The decade ended with Ridley Scott's Alien, a film he had initially turned down because of its low budget. In a 2019 interview he said that a two-million-dollar budget and actors unknown to him made it seem like a film that Ed Wood could have directed.
In the 1980s he featured in The Dead Zone, SpaceCamp, Poltergeist III and Steel Magnolias, as well as Tony Scott's 1986 film Top Gun. In the 1990s he reunited with Redford for A River Runs Through It and also appeared in Contact, Poison Ivy and The Other Sister. He won his Emmy for the family drama Picket Fences, which ran for four seasons.
His last film role was in the 2025 western drama Broke, alongside Dennis Quaid.
Work with veterans
In 2012 Skerritt co-founded the Red Badge Project, an initiative that aimed to help veterans process PTSD through storytelling.
