R.I.P. Tom Skerritt, veteran actor of Top Gun, Alien, and much more

Although his presence in a top-grossing Oscar-winner raised Skerritt’s profile considerably, it didn’t dampen the dogged way he pursued work: His 1970s credits show a similar, relentless blend of film performances and one-episode TV roles. (As Skerritt himself later noted, he had three kids to support.) Another turning point came with, well, The Turning Point: Though Skerritt’s role in the Shirley MacLaine/Anne Bancroft ballet drama was largely a supporting one, it was a reminder to many in Hollywood how effective he could be in such parts—imbuing characters who might feel flat on the page with a flinty resilience that refused to let them fade into the woodwork. Two years later, he’d perform similar work on one of the biggest movies of his career: Ridley Scott’s Alien, where his Captain Dallas is the reliable bedrock of the movie—right up to the point that he’s yanked away from the audience, leaving Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley to become the franchise star. (Skerritt himself applauded the move, saying, “What I did like was that there was a woman—a strong woman that rises and does that with a lot of chutzpah.”)

Skerritt slowed down not one whit in the 1980s or early ’90s, including actively campaigning for a role in Tony Scott’s Top Gun. (“I knew Tony Scott because of Ridley,” he noted. “And I knew what he could do, so this is one film I really worked to get into, because I knew the film was going to work.”) Skerritt was borderline inescapable during the era, whether you were watching drama (Steel Magnolias), thrillers (as the primary target of Drew Barrymore’s seductions in Poison Ivy), or even on sitcoms, courtesy of a recurring role on the later seasons of Cheers. He finally, after decades, settled into a regular TV gig of his own in 1992, leading CBS’s critically acclaimed Picket Fences; years later, Skerritt would enthuse about his day job as well-meaning Sheriff Jimmy Brock, and of getting to spend his days working from scripts by rising TV star David E. Kelley. (Skerritt won his only Emmy for the role, scoring Outstanding Lead In A Drama Series in 1993.)

After the show ended in 1997, Skerritt got right back to the grind: His filmography really never slowed down, right up to his final role, in Wyatt Russell rodeo drama Broke, in 2025. Reflecting on his career, and his tireless work ethic, back in 2019, Skerritt offered this: “You know, it’s what you get and make of it. All of our life, it’s what you make of it. Sometimes that makes me cry—just to be able to have this feeling about what I do. It’s pretty remarkable. I honor that simple stuff. It’s easier for me to feel emotional about. I feel like I’m a football player—a really good open field runner, getting through the defensive line, and not getting tackled running through to a touchdown. You know, the glory that you felt doing that—I did it once. Just almost scored a touchdown one time—fumbled and got tackled just before. [Laughs.] Tiny things!”