Hollywood has been rocked by the death of actor Val Kilmer at the age of 65.
According to his daughter Mercedes, the Batman star passed away in Los Angeles on Tuesday (April 1) after suffering with pneumonia. After spending the early days of his career on stage, Kilmer moved to the big screen where his big break came in spy spoof, Top Secret!
He went on to land the lead role in Real Genius, before appearing as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky alongside Tom Cruise in Top Gun.In the 1990s, meanwhile, Kilmer appeared in further lead roles in the likes of The Doors [as the band’s lead singer, Jim Morrison], Batman Forever and action thriller, The Saint. His final movie saw him reprise his Iceman character in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick.
But what were the favourite parts he played in his illustrious career? In 2018 Kilmer told Variety that he viewed some of those roles from yesteryear like they were “old friends”.
With Top Gun’s sequel green-lighted two years earlier some 30 years after the original, fans were keen to know his thoughts on Iceman’s comeback. “With the same economy and joy the first one was made,” he said of his excitement at the time. “We’ve had so much fun acting together again after all these years. Boy, what a thrill.”
In 1993, meanwhile, Kilmer starred as Doc Holliday in George P Cosmatos’ Western film, Tombstone. He earned plaudits for his portrayal, in which the outlaw dentist character suffered from tuberculosis.
Kilmer said of the experience: “Tombstone was very challenging for all the externals, and it was a rare heat wave. We also lost our director three weeks into it. So we lost a lot of time on a tight budget. The cast and crew were amazing.”
In his conversation with Variety, Kilmer also namedropped Heat, The Doors, Thunderheart and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang as favourites, adding that roles in 2004’s Alexander and 1989’s Billy The Kid left him feeling, “so lucky, so blessed”.
However, Kilmer had one regret in his career that spanned decades. He turned down the lead role in 1986’s Blue Velvet, directed by David Lynch – a movie that could have defined his career.
The role was eventually taken by Kyle MacLachlan, who went on to star in Twin Peaks. But he regretted it for the rest of his life. “Blue Velvet is a wonderful film,” he said. “I had a crazy, crazy crush on [Isabella Rosselini] so I would have done it for free. I was very naive when I was younger. I said ‘no’ to a ton of really wonderful directors and, looking back now, I can’t remember the reasons why.”