- Val Kilmer is best known for Top Gun (Iceman), Batman Forever (Batman), The Doors (Jim Morrison), and Tombstone (Doc Holliday).
- Showcased range in fantasy, drama, and crime films
- Overcame throat cancer and returned to acting in Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Hollywood actor Val Kilmer, famous for his roles in iconic 1980s and 90s films like Top Gun and Batman Forever, has passed away at the age of 65.
Kilmer also starred in the 1991 film The Doors, portraying the legendary band’s frontman, Jim Morrison, and appeared in the Western Tombstone and the crime drama Heat.
His daughter, Mercedes, confirmed to US media that Kilmer died from pneumonia in Los Angeles on Tuesday. She shared that her father had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but had later recovered.
Though a tracheotomy surgery impacted his voice and shortened his acting career, Kilmer made a return to the screen in 2022, reprising his role as fighter pilot Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick, alongside Tom Cruise.
American actor Josh Brolin paid tribute on Instagram, writing, “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you,” alongside a photo of himself and Kilmer. “You were a smart, challenging, brave, über-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those,” he added.
In 2021, Kilmer released a documentary, Val, which detailed his life and career. The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, featured 40 years of home videos, including footage of Kilmer speaking with a voice box after his cancer surgery.
Kilmer was born Val Edward Kilmer on December 31, 1959, and grew up in a middle-class family in Los Angeles. His parents were Christian Scientists, and Kilmer adhered to this faith throughout his life. At 17, he became the youngest student ever to be admitted to New York’s prestigious Juilliard School.
Kilmer first rose to fame with the 1984 comedy Top Secret! and the 1985 film Real Genius, before becoming a household name as Iceman, the rival to Tom Cruise’s Maverick, in 1986’s Top Gun, a defining film of the 1980s.
He went on to star in Willow and Kill Me Again, both alongside British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he married in 1988. The couple had two children, including daughter Mercedes Kilmer.
Kilmer showcased his range with his portrayal of Jim Morrison in The Doors, 20 years after the singer’s death. He also starred in Tombstone as Doc Holliday and appeared in Heat alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.
In 1995, Kilmer took over the role of Batman from Michael Keaton in Batman Forever, which was a box office success despite mixed reviews. Kilmer later stepped away from the franchise, declining to return for the next Batman film.
He also starred in the 1997 remake of The Saint, originally made famous by Roger Moore, and worked with Marlon Brando in The Island of Dr. Moreau. The latter film became one of Hollywood’s most notorious flops, and its director, John Frankenheimer, famously vowed never to work with Kilmer again, as Kilmer had developed a reputation for being difficult on set.
