Val Kilmer, the chameleonic actor whose performances spanned iconic roles from Jim Morrison to Batman, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 65. His daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, confirmed to The New York Times that the cause was pneumonia. Kilmer had been battling throat cancer for several years.
Best known for his eclectic mix of roles and a reputation for artistic intensity, Kilmer rose to prominence in the 1980s and ’90s with a series of high-profile films, including Top Gun, Tombstone, Heat, and Batman Forever. His performance as Doc Holliday in Tombstone remains one of his most celebrated, praised for its wit, vulnerability, and grit.
Remembering the legacy of Val Kilmer
In 1995, Kilmer stepped into the Bat-suit for Batman Forever, taking over from Michael Keaton in director Joel Schumacher’s glossy reimagining of the franchise. While reviews were mixed, the film was a box office success. He did not return for the sequel, Batman & Robin, and was replaced by George Clooney. Schumacher later described working with Kilmer as difficult, saying, “There are two things I will never do in my life — climb Mount Everest and work with Val Kilmer again.”
A classically trained actor who studied at Juilliard, Kilmer began his career on the stage and made his screen debut in the early ’80s. His breakout came in 1984’s Top Secret!, a spy spoof in which he played an Elvis-style rock star. He quickly followed with Real Genius and his star-making turn as Iceman opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun.
Kilmer’s commitment to craft was often intense. For The Doors (1991), he immersed himself fully in the role of Jim Morrison, memorizing every lyric and emulating the late singer’s style for nearly a year. Roger Ebert called Kilmer’s performance “the best thing in the movie,” a sentiment echoed by many critics.
Off-screen, Kilmer developed a reputation for being combative with directors and colleagues, a trait that may have contributed to his declining studio opportunities in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Tensions were especially high on The Island of Dr. Moreau, a famously troubled shoot where Kilmer clashed with both director John Frankenheimer and co-star Marlon Brando. The behind-the-scenes chaos was later detailed in the 2021 documentary Val, a deeply personal film that used footage shot by Kilmer throughout his career.
Narrated by his son, Val offered rare insight into Kilmer’s life and mindset, painting a portrait of an artist deeply committed to his work, even as health challenges began to take their toll. By the time of his brief appearance in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, Kilmer could no longer speak due to his cancer, with his dialogue rendered through AI-assisted voice technology.
Born in Los Angeles and raised in Chatsworth, Kilmer attended Hollywood Professional School before enrolling at Juilliard. He performed off-Broadway in The Slab Boys alongside Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon and appeared in an early TV role in the afterschool special One Too Many, opposite Michelle Pfeiffer. His filmography includes a diverse array of titles — from Willow and The Ghost and the Darkness to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Déjà Vu, and The Salton Sea. He lent his voice to The Prince of Egypt and earned a Grammy nomination in 2012 for Best Spoken Word Album for Zorro.
A lifelong Christian Scientist, Kilmer was reluctant to publicly acknowledge his cancer diagnosis when fellow actor Michael Douglas revealed it in 2016. Deeply spiritual, Kilmer wrote and performed Citizen Twain, a one-man stage show blending his admiration for Mark Twain with his religious beliefs. He also penned a memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry, in 2020, named after his famous line in Tombstone.
Later in life, Kilmer split his time between acting, painting, and mentoring young performers. He lived for many years on a ranch in New Mexico, where he supported theatre programs for high school students, often centered on Twain and Shakespeare.
He was previously married to actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met on the set of Willow. They divorced in 1996. Kilmer is survived by their two children, Mercedes and Jack.