Val Kilmer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Val Edward Kilmer (1959-12-31)December 31, 1959 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	April 1, 2025(2025-04-01) (aged 65) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	Juilliard School (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1981–2022
Spouse(s)	Joanne Whalley ​ ​ (m. 1988; div. 1996)​
Children	2, including Jack Kilmer

Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) was an American actor. He started his career on stage. Later, he became famous for his roles in comedy films. These included Top Secret! (1984) and Real Genius (1985). He also starred in the action film Top Gun (1986) and the fantasy movie Willow (1988).

Val Kilmer earned praise for playing Jim Morrison in the film The Doors (1991). He took on lead roles in many movies. Some of these were the western Tombstone (1993) and the crime dramas True Romance (1993) and Heat (1995). He also played Batman in Batman Forever (1995). His other films include The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), The Saint (1997), and The Prince of Egypt (1998). In 2022, he returned as Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick. This was his last film role.

In 2015, Val Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer. He had a procedure that affected his vocal cords. This made it very hard for him to speak. He also had chemotherapy and two tracheotomies. In 2020, he wrote a book about his life called I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir. A 2021 documentary film, Val, showed his health journey and career. It was well-received at the Cannes Film Festival. Val Kilmer was one of the highest-paid actors in the 1990s. His movies have earned over $3.7 billion worldwide.

Early Life and Education

Val Kilmer was born on December 31, 1959, in Los Angeles, California. He was the second of three sons. His mother, Gladys Swanette, had Swedish roots. His family also had Irish, German, and Cherokee roots. His parents divorced when he was 8 years old.

When Val was 15, his younger brother Wesley sadly passed away. Val went to Chatsworth High School. He was the youngest person ever accepted into the Drama Division at the Juilliard School. This is a very famous performing arts school.

Val Kilmer's Acting Career

Starting Out in the 1980s

Val Kilmer first focused on theater. He turned down a role in the 1983 film The Outsiders because of his stage commitments. In 1983, he acted in an off-Broadway play called The Slab Boys. He also appeared in a TV show called One Too Many.

His big break came with the comedy movie Top Secret!. He played an American rock and roll star in this film. Val Kilmer sang all the songs himself and even released an album. After this, he traveled around Europe for a bit.

In 1985, he played the main character in the comedy Real Genius. He then got the role of "Iceman" in the action film Top Gun. He starred alongside Tom Cruise. Top Gun was a huge hit, earning over $344 million worldwide. This made Val Kilmer a major star. He then played Madmartigan in the fantasy film Willow. On the set of Willow, he met his future wife, Joanne Whalley.

Becoming a Star in the 1990s

Playing Jim Morrison and Other Roles

In the early 1990s, Val Kilmer starred in The Doors. This movie was about the famous band The Doors. Val Kilmer worked very hard to prepare for the role of lead singer Jim Morrison. He memorized all of Morrison's song lyrics. He even sent a video of himself performing Doors songs to the director.

He spent almost a year dressing like Morrison before filming began. He also visited Morrison's old hangouts. People praised his performance, saying it was hard to tell his voice from Morrison's.

After The Doors, Val Kilmer starred in the thriller Thunderheart. He also appeared in the action comedy The Real McCoy. In 1993, he played Elvis Presley in True Romance. That same year, he played Doc Holliday in the western Tombstone. In 1995, he starred in the 3D IMAX film Wings of Courage. He also appeared with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Heat. Heat is now considered one of the best crime films of the 1990s.

Playing Batman

In 1993, director Joel Schumacher was very impressed with Val Kilmer's acting in Tombstone. He thought Val would be perfect for the role of Batman. In 1994, the previous Batman actor, Michael Keaton, decided not to return. Val Kilmer was then cast as Batman in Batman Forever. He took the role without even reading the script!

Batman Forever was released in June 1995 and was a box office success. Critics had mixed feelings about Val Kilmer's performance. Some liked it, while others preferred the previous Batman. However, Batman co-creator Bob Kane said Val Kilmer gave the best performance of Batman so far.

In 1996, Val Kilmer decided not to play Batman again. He felt the villains were getting more attention than Batman. Also, he had other filming commitments. George Clooney took over the role in the next Batman movie.

Later 1990s Roles

In 1996, Val Kilmer starred with Michael Douglas in the thriller The Ghost and the Darkness. In 1997, he played Simon Templar in the popular action film The Saint. He enjoyed this role because it was more fun and less serious. He even wrote some of the poetry used in the film. The Saint was a financial success, earning $169.4 million worldwide.

In 1998, he voiced Moses in the animated film The Prince of Egypt. He then appeared in the independent film Joe the King (1999). Also in 1999, he played a blind man in the drama At First Sight. He said this was one of the hardest roles he had ever done.

2000s and Beyond

Val Kilmer in 2005

In 2000, Val Kilmer was in the film Red Planet. He also had a supporting role in Pollock. In 2002, he starred in the thriller The Salton Sea. This film was well-reviewed.

In 2003, he starred in Wonderland and The Missing. The next year, he played a secret agent in Spartan. He trained like a special forces soldier for this role. He also appeared in the big-budget film Alexander.

In 2004, Val Kilmer returned to the theater. He played Moses in a musical called The Ten Commandments: The Musical. He had previously voiced Moses in the animated film The Prince of Egypt.

Val Kilmer with 50 Cent in 2009

In 2005, he starred with Robert Downey, Jr. in the action-comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. His performance was praised, and the film was well-reviewed. In 2006, he worked with director Tony Scott again in Déjà Vu.

Val Kilmer also lent his voice to the car KITT in the 2008 Knight Rider TV series. He appeared in films like Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) and Streets of Blood (2009).

2010s and Recent Work

In 2010, Val Kilmer starred in the horror film The Traveler. He also worked with his friend Francis Ford Coppola on the film Twixt. He played the villain in the comedy MacGruber.

In 2012, Val Kilmer received a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word. He also appeared in a short film called The Lotus Community Workshop. In this film, he played a version of himself from another reality.

In 2013, he reunited with his Top Gun co-star Anthony Edwards. They both voiced characters in the Disney animated movie Planes. Val Kilmer voiced Bravo.

In 2017, Val Kilmer appeared in Song to Song and The Snowman. In 2020, he acted alongside his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, for the first time in Paydirt.

In 2022, Val Kilmer returned to his famous role as Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in the Top Gun sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.

Personal Life and Health

Val Kilmer was a lifelong Christian Scientist. In 2015, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He called it "the suggestion of throat cancer" because of his beliefs. However, he did undergo chemotherapy and two tracheotomies. These treatments are usually against his religion.

A procedure on his trachea damaged his vocal cords. This made his voice very raspy and made it hard to breathe. To speak, he had to use an electric voice box. In 2020, he shared that he had been cancer-free for four years. He also talked about his ongoing struggles with medical treatments, like using a feeding tube to eat.

In 2021, Val Kilmer worked with a company to digitally recreate his voice. They used AI technology and old recordings of his voice. This allowed his voice to be used in future projects. For Top Gun: Maverick (2022), his actual voice was used, but it was digitally changed to make it clearer.

Val Kilmer was married to actress Joanne Whalley from 1988 to 1996. They met while working on the film Willow. They had two children: a daughter named Mercedes (born 1991) and a son named Jack (born 1995).

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

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

Video games

Music videos

Images for kids

• 

  Val Kilmer as Bacchus at a 2009 Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans

See also

In Spanish: Val Kilmer para niños