Actor Val Kilmer, who starred in some of the biggest films of the 1980s and 1990s, such as Batman Forever and Top Gun, has away at the age of 65.
In addition, he played Jim Morrison, the frontman of the iconic band, in the 1991 film The Doors. He also acted in the murder thriller Heat and the Western Tombstone.
Mercedes, Kilmer’s daughter, told US media that her father passed away in Los Angeles on Tuesday from pneumonia.
According to her, her father recovered from throat cancer after receiving a diagnosis in 2014.
His acting career was halted by tracheotomy surgery, which also impaired his voice, but he made a comeback in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, costarring with Tom Cruise as jet pilot Iceman.
Born on December 31, 1959, Val Edward Kilmer was raised in a middle-class Los Angeles household.
Kilmer’s parents were Christian Scientists, a faith he would follow throughout his life.
At the age of 17, he became the youngest student to enroll in one of the most prominent drama conservatories in the world, the Julliard School in New York.
Prior to solidifying his acting career as Iceman, the antagonist of Crusie’s character Maverick in 1986’s Top Gun, one of the decade’s pivotal films, he established himself in the comedies Top Secret! in 1984 and Real Genius the following year.
Kilmer then costarred with British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he married in 1988, in the crime drama Kill Me Again and the fairytale Willow. The pair had two kids.
Twenty years after the singer’s passing, he demonstrated his dynamic and adaptable abilities by portraying Morrison, the rock frontman, in The Doors.
Hits included Tombstone, in which he portrayed gunfighter Doc Holliday, and Heat, in which he costarred with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.
In 1995, he replaced Michael Keaton as Batman for Batman Forever, a box office hit with mixed reviews. Kilmer then withdrew from the following Batman film.
He played the role of the master criminal and master of disguise in the 1997 film The Saint, which was based on the novels of Leslie Charteris and served as the basis for the Roger Moore-starring television series of the 1960s.
Kilmer also played the role of Marlon Brando’s insane sidekick in the 1996 movie The Island of Dr. Moreau, which turned out to be one of Hollywood’s most infamous failures.
Kilmer was known for being challenging on set, and its director, John Frankenheimer, vowed never to collaborate with him again.
Kilmer published a documentary in 2021 that detailed the highs and lows of his life and profession.
Featuring 40 years of home recordings, including him speaking via a vocal box following cancer surgery, Val made its Cannes Film Festival debut.
His return as Iceman in the much anticipated Top Gun sequel was especially moving, even though he had continued to act.
This information has been sourced from BBC.
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