Tom Skerritt, who played Alien’s captain Dallas and Top Gun’s Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf, has died at 93. He died of natural causes on Oct. 21, 2026, leaving a career of more than 150 screen credits and a family who remembered the curiosity, humor and generosity he brought home.
“While the world knew Tom through his remarkable acting career, we knew him for his humor, curiosity, wisdom, generosity, and the love he brought into our lives,” his family said in a statement.
Born in Detroit on Aug. 25, 1933, Skerritt joined the U.S. Air Force after finishing high school in 1951. The G.I. Bill helped him attend college, eventually taking him to UCLA as an English major interested in directing. He took up acting to work through his shyness and hadn’t expected to make it his profession.
His film debut came in 1962’s War Hunt, alongside Robert Redford and Sydney Pollack. Director Robert Altman became a mentor and cast him in M*A*S*H in 1970, giving him a breakthrough role.
Skerritt played Dallas, captain of the Nostromo, in 1979’s Alien, then Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf in 1986’s Top Gun. His other roles included Drum Eatenton in Steel Magnolias in 1989 and the reverend in A River Runs Through It in 1992, which reunited him with Redford as his director.
Playing Sheriff Jimmy Brock on David E. Kelley’s Picket Fences brought him the 1993 Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. He also directed episodes of the show and received Golden Globe nominations in 1994 and 1995 and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations in 1995 and 1996. His later films included Tears of the Sun, Whiteout and East of the Mountains.
His work with storytelling extended to fellow veterans. In 2012, he co-founded the Red Badge Project to help veterans living with PTSD through writing and sharing stories. He and his wife, film and TV executive Julie Tokashiki, also founded the film company Triple Squirrels in 2020.
Skerritt and Tokashiki met on Picket Fences and married in 1998. He’s survived by Julie, his 5 children, 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
His family asked for privacy while they grieve and said memorial information would be shared later.
