Val Kilmer, a versatile Hollywood anti-hero of the 1980s and 1990s with star turns as both Batman and Jim Morrison, has died. He was 65.
Kilmer was surrounded by family and loved ones in Los Angeles when he succumbed to a bout pneumonia on Tuesday night, his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, confirmed.
The beloved actor, who also appeared in “Top Gun” and, most recently, its 2022 sequel, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and underwent two tracheostomies before he eventually recovered, though he has faced some struggles in the years since, including difficulty breathing and talking, she added. His once iconic voice was rendered unrecognizable by the pair of procedures, which had devastating effects on his vocal chords.
“I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. I have behaved bizarrely to some,” Kilmer said in “Val,” a 2021 documentary chronicling his career and health journey. “I deny none of this and have no regrets because I have lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed. And I am blessed.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kilmer was the youngest actor ever at the time to be accepted to the renowned Juilliard School‘s drama division. He went on to launch a career on stage before moving to the big screen as Nick Rivers in Jim Abrahams’ spy spoof “Top Secret!” in 1984, and then as Chris Knight in the science fiction comedy “Real Genius.” But it was his third role — hotshot pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky opposite Tom Cruise — in “Top Gun” that made Kilmer a bonafide Hollywood hit.
“I didn’t want the part. I didn’t care about the film,” Kilmer wrote in his memoir of the role. “The story didn’t interest me.”
Kilmer followed his career-making turn with roles in television movies “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains” before rounding out the ’80s with appearances in “Billy the Kid,” “Kill me Again,” and “Willow.” He met his future wife Joanne Whalley on set of the latter. They had two children before divorcing in 1996.
Kilmer then turned heads in 1991’s “The Doors” as the band’s legendary frontman, who died in 1971 at age 27.
A product of the Method branch of Suzuki arts training, Kilmer would often throw himself into his role, and Morrison was no exception. He spent the year leading up to production dressed as the rocker and frequented his hangouts on the Strip. On-set, he constantly blasted “The Doors” and demanded to be called Jim. When he played Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,” he filled his bed with ice for the final scene to mimic the feeling of dying from tuberculosis.
The same year, Kilmer sported a new set of dark leathers, replacing Michael Keaton as the caped crusader in Joel Schumacher’s “Batman Forever.” The film was a huge box-office success, but Kilmer opted against reprising the role in the next installment. Still, he continued to see success throughout the ’90s with roles including Robert De Niro’s devilish henchman in Michael Mann’s 1995 film “Heat,” Marlon Brando’s wild assistant in John Frankenheimer’s “The Island of Dr. Moreau” and international crook Simon Templar in “The Saint,” directed by Phillip Noyce.
“In an unflinching attempt to empower directors, actors and other collaborators to honor the truth and essence of each project, an attempt to breathe Suzukian life into a myriad of Hollywood moments, I had been deemed difficult and alienated the head of every major studio,” he wrote in his memoir, “I’m Your Huckleberry.”
While Kilmer ‘s career stalled in his later years, he continued to act, even after his tracheostomies left him struggling to speak. For “Top Gun: Maverick,” his most recent role, filmmakers used regenerative AI to read his dialogue, which was later edited into the film.
With News Wire Services
©2025 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
© American Military News
