75 Facts About Val Kilmer

Films in which Kilmer appeared grossed more than $3.85 billion worldwide.

In 1992, film critic Roger Ebert remarked, "if there is an award for the most unsung leading man of his generation, Val Kilmer should get it".

Val Kilmer gained acclaim for his roles in Willow, Thunderheart, True Romance and Heat.

Val Kilmer later acted in films such as The Island of Dr Moreau, The Saint, The Prince of Egypt, The Salton Sea, Alexander, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Deja Vu, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, MacGruber, The Snowman, and Song to Song.

Val Kilmer made his final film appearance in Top Gun: Maverick, reprising his role from the original film.

On stage, Val Kilmer made his Broadway theatre debut acting in the John Byrne working class play The Slab Boys.

Val Kilmer portrayed Mark Twain in a one-man show he had written titled Citizen Twain in a 2012 production in Los Angeles.

Val Kilmer subsequently underwent a tracheal procedure that damaged his vocal cords, leaving him with severe difficulty speaking.

Val Kilmer underwent chemotherapy and two tracheotomies, before he died of pneumonia on April 1,2025.

Val Kilmer released his memoir, I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir, and the documentary Val, both of which detail his career and health struggles.

Val Edward Kilmer was born on December 31,1959, in Los Angeles, California, the second of three sons to Gladys Swanette and industrialist and developer Eugene Dorris Kilmer.

Val Kilmer's mother was of Swedish descent, and his father's ancestry included Irish, German, and Cherokee roots.

Val Kilmer's parents divorced in 1968 when he was 8 years old and in 1970, his mother married William Bernard Leach.

Val Kilmer was raised with Christian Science beliefs, which he maintained for most of his life.

Val Kilmer attended Chatsworth High School where he was friends with actors Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham, whom Val Kilmer dated.

Val Kilmer became the youngest person at the time to be accepted into the Juilliard School's Drama Division, where he was a member of Group 10.

Val Kilmer declined a role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film The Outsiders, as he had prior theater commitments.

Also in 1983, Val Kilmer self-published a collection of his own poetry entitled My Edens After Burns, that included poems inspired by his time with Pfeiffer.

Val Kilmer sang all the songs in the film and released an album under the film character's name, "Nick Rivers".

Val Kilmer turned down a role in David Lynch's Blue Velvet before being cast as naval aviator Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in the action film Top Gun alongside Tom Cruise.

In 1989, Val Kilmer played the lead in both Kill Me Again, again opposite Whalley, and a supporting role in Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid.

Val Kilmer spoke with Oliver Stone early on, concerned about what he might want to do with the story because Val Kilmer did not believe in or want to promote substance abuse.

Val Kilmer saw Jim Morrison as having picked the wrong heroes, who had different issues, which were not part of the creativity or inspiration.

Val Kilmer saw Morrison's story as one that could be told "a thousand different ways" and did not want to tell it by playing the role in the style of drugs, with which Oliver Stone agreed.

Val Kilmer memorized the lyrics to all of lead singer Morrison's songs prior to his audition and sent a video of himself performing some Doors songs to director Stone.

Val Kilmer spent close to a year before production dressing in Morrison-like clothes and spent time at Morrison's old hangouts along the Sunset Strip.

In 1993, Val Kilmer played Doc Holliday in the western Tombstone alongside Kurt Russell.

Val Kilmer took the role without even knowing who the new director was and without reading the script.

Batman co-creator Bob Kane said in a Cinescape interview that of all the actors to have played Batman up to that point, he felt Val Kilmer had given the best interpretation.

That year, Val Kilmer starred alongside Michael Douglas in the thriller The Ghost and the Darkness.

Val Kilmer looked forward to the title role as a change toward a more fun, less serious action thriller, while enjoying the "master of disguise" chameleon characters including a mad artist, a nerdy British scientist, a cleaner, and a Russian mob boss.

Val Kilmer appeared in The Missing, where he again worked with Willow director Ron Howard.

Val Kilmer received Delta Force-like training in preparation for the role.

Val Kilmer next appeared in the big budget Oliver Stone production Alexander, which received poor reviews.

Also in 2004, Val Kilmer returned to the theater to play Moses in a Los Angeles musical production of The Ten Commandments: The Musical, produced by BCBG founder Max Azria.

Val Kilmer was in negotiations with Richard Dutcher to play the lead role in a film entitled Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith, although the project never materialized.

Val Kilmer performed in The Postman Always Rings Twice on the London stage from June to September 2005.

Val Kilmer's performance was praised and the film was well reviewed, but it received only a limited release.

In 2006, Val Kilmer reunited with director Tony Scott for a third time for a supporting role opposite Denzel Washington in the box-office hit Deja Vu.

The song "Val Kilmer" was named after him on Bowling for Soup's 2006 album The Great Burrito Extortion Case.

In 2008, Val Kilmer starred alongside Stephen Dorff in the Sony and Stage 6 film Felon.

Val Kilmer was the voice of the car KITT for the 2008 Knight Rider TV pilot film and the following television series.

Val Kilmer replaced Will Arnett, who had to step down from the role due to contractual conflict with General Motors.

In keeping with tradition established by the original Knight Rider series and original KITT actor William Daniels, Val Kilmer was uncredited for the role on-screen.

Val Kilmer next starred alongside Nicolas Cage in the Werner Herzog film Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and alongside Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in Streets of Blood.

In 2010 Val Kilmer starred in Michael Oblowitz's horror film The Traveler, in which he played the vengeful spirit of a man who had been tortured and murdered while in police custody.

Val Kilmer was finally able to work with his lifelong friend Francis Ford Coppola and star in the film Twixt.

In 2010, Val Kilmer appeared as the villain Dieter Von Cunth in MacGruber and had a small cameo role in the music video for Tenacious D's "To Be the Best".

Val Kilmer spoke at the May 5,2010, commencement ceremonies of William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri.

In 2012, Val Kilmer received a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word.

Val Kilmer starred in Harmony Korine's short film The Lotus Community Workshop, part of the collaborative film The Fourth Dimension.

Val Kilmer plays a version of himself from an alternate reality: a former actor turned self-help guru.

In 2002, Val Kilmer worked on a film about the life of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science church, and Mark Twain, one of her most famous critics.

Val Kilmer played the role of Detective Dobson in the series finale of the television show Psych.

In 2017, Val Kilmer appeared in Song to Song opposite Rooney Mara and Ryan Gosling and directed by Terrence Malick.

Val Kilmer appeared in the 2017 film The Snowman, opposite Michael Fassbender and Rebecca Ferguson and directed by Tomas Alfredson.

Val Kilmer reprised his role as Tom "Iceman" Kazansky for the Top Gun sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Val Kilmer was married to actress Joanne Whalley from March 1988 to February 1996.

Val Kilmer owned a 6,000-acre ranch in New Mexico, where he would trek, hike, fish, and raise bison.

Val Kilmer was an avid musician; he released a demo album, Sessions with Mick in 2007.

Val Kilmer had a reputation for being difficult to work with and having feuds with some of the actors with whom he worked, notably The Island of Dr Moreau co-star Marlon Brando and Red Planet and Heat co-star Tom Sizemore.

Val Kilmer was really professional and gentlemanly, and a terrific actor.

Val Kilmer was so nurturing and kind and safe, which was a very important thing for me.

Val Kilmer made the scene about us instead of using me as a prop.

In 1998, Val Kilmer traveled to Iraq with AmeriCares to deliver humanitarian aid, the first US humanitarian airlift to Iraq since 1990.

Val Kilmer made several trips to New Orleans to help in the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster relief.

Val Kilmer was a supporter of Native American affairs and an advocate of environmental protection.

Val Kilmer briefly considered running for Governor of New Mexico in 2010 but decided against it.

In 2014, Val Kilmer was forced to cancel a Citizen Twain show after losing his voice.

Val Kilmer noticed a lump in his throat but did not seek medical care until he started vomiting blood.

Val Kilmer underwent recommended chemotherapy following his children's request despite it being conventionally against his religion.

Val Kilmer reported in 2020 that he had been cancer-free for four years but continued to struggle with medical treatments, including the use of a feeding tube.

Val Kilmer died of pneumonia in Los Angeles on April 1,2025, at the age of 65.

Val Kilmer was an iconoclast and rebel in his acting, and always kept it exciting in either supporting or main roles.

Val Kilmer should have been nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor.