Top Gun and Batman star Val Kilmer dead at 65, daughter says
Kilmer received critical acclaim for his portrayal of musician Jim Morrison in the 1991 film The Doors.
Top Gun star Val Kilmer has died at the age of 65, his daughter has said.
Hollywood stars have paid tribute to the US actor, who was also known for playing Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever (1995) and rock star Jim Morrison in 1991 film The Doors.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times the actor had died from pneumonia.
Director Ron Howard said he “was incredibly fortunate to collaborate with Val a number of times over the years”, in a post to X on Wednesday, where he reflected on the actor’s “amazing” filmography and “awesome range”.
He said they had worked together on 1988 fantasy film Willow, biopic The Doors, and 2003 western thriller The Missing.
“His art extended to his poetry, artworks, filmmaking and simply the way he lived. Bon Voyage, Val and thank you,” Howard said.
The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola said Kilmer “was the most talented actor when in his high school and that talent only grew greater throughout his life”.
“He was a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know — I will always remember him”, he added, in an Instagram post.
Coppola directed Kilmer in 2011 horror film Twixt, which saw the actor play struggling writer Hall Baltimore.
The actor rose to fame starring alongside Tom Cruise in the 1986 hit Top Gun playing Iceman, a rival pilot to Cruise’s character, Maverick.
Kilmer’s Top Gun character famously told Cruise’s Maverick: “You can be my wingman any time.”
He would go on to play Batman in 1995’s Batman Forever and starred in a number of westerns including 1989 film Billy The Kid and 1992’s Thunderheart.
He was also in Michael Mann’s 1995 crime drama Heat with Hollywood heavyweights Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.
Paying tribute to Kilmer on Instagram, Mann said: “While working with Val on ‘Heat’ I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character.
“After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”
His final acting role was a cameo in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
“I just want to say that was pretty emotional,” Cruise told Jimmy Kimmel in 2023 about the cameo.
“I’ve known Val for decades, and for him to come back and play that character … he’s such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again.”
Kilmer had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, discussing his diagnosis and recovery in his 2020 memoir I’m Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent both radiotherapy and chemotherapy, as well as a tracheostomy, which damaged his vocal cords.
“I obviously am sounding much worse than I feel,” Kilmer said in the documentary.
“I can’t speak without plugging this hole (in my throat). You have to make the choice to breathe or to eat.
“It’s an obstacle that is very present with whoever sees me.”
Born on New Year’s Eve in 1959 in Los Angeles, Kilmer’s father Eugene was a real estate developer, while his mother Gladys stayed at home to raise her three sons.
Middle child Val attended Chatsworth High School at the same time as Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham and, at the age of 17, was reported to be the youngest person to be given a place at New York’s prestigious Juilliard drama school.
He got his big break in 1984 comedy Top Secret!, in which he also sang, and he also starred in the comedy Real Genius the following year.
He married British actress Joanne Whalley in 1988, whom he met while working on Willow, which also saw him star alongside Warwick Davis.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
