“What’s your problem, Kazanski?”
“You’re everyone’s problem. That’s because every time you go up in the air, you’re unsafe.”
“I was glad I did. It was a lot of fun.”
“You see, I’m both Bruce Wayne and Batman. It’s a wonderful world at Gotham City.”
“It’s so big. It really was a pleasure.”
“I’m going to stop the rain.”
From The Doors to Top Gun’s Iceman to Batman, Val Kilmer was a leading man for over 30 years.
But in his late 50s, he was diagnosed with throat cancer and underwent a tracheotomy to help him breathe.
One of his final roles was in Paydirt with his daughter, Mercedes.
“I just want to be your dad now, if that’s okay. Come here. I love you.”
Jamie: “I better than others. I can’t work until I’m 15 years. I want to play the oldest man on Earth.”
In his 2021 documentary Val, which his son narrates, the actor said he sounded worse than he felt.
“Though I healed quickly from the cancer, the extensive radiation and chemotherapy treatment that followed has left my voice impaired. I’m still recovering, and it is difficult to talk and to be understood.”
And while he struggled with his health, Val still wanted to work.
In 2018, he reached out to Tom Cruise and the producers of Top Gun: Maverick so he could return to his iconic role.
“Thomas is the original. From the version of this program in high school, he would be on set even if he wasn’t in the scene. He just is such a positive energy. He’s so full of life. And to see him on set and chat with him was great.”
“The kind of talent that he has… and you see that scene, it’s very special. It’s just very special.”
“Yeah, I think the way you all handled the scenes with him was just beautiful. It really, really was beautiful. He’s beautiful.”
There’s one particular scene between Val and Tom that just—man, right in the feels.
“The Navy needs Maverick. The kid needs Maverick. That’s why I fought for you. That’s why you’re still here.”
Val’s voice was pretty compromised at this point, but you could tell his energy was still the same. He was very playful and excited. You could tell he was so excited to be back among these people.
That day, Tom was there. Obviously, you could feel the nostalgic reunion energy. It was all very much there, and he was participating in that a lot.
“It was great to see him.”
“You need any help?”
“Have you figured it out yet?”
Val, who played Tom’s nemesis in the original blockbuster, took home movies behind the scenes during filming in San Diego.
ET was on set.
“What do you think it is about Top Gun that’s going to make it Top Gun?”
“I think the cast and the direction and the producing… I haven’t seen the film, but I was there when it was happening. It was a tremendous group to work with, and I think that’ll show on the screen.”
“You know, in the first one, I really rallied hard for him to make the movie because I wanted him in the film. He’s such a tremendous actor, and to have him play that character… you just got to go and tackle this guy. I was like, ‘You, Val, you got to make this movie.'”
He manifested a backstory for Iceman—his father ignored him, and as a result, he was driven by the need to be perfect in every way. This obsession with perfection made him arrogant.
“I would purposely play up the rivalry between Tom’s character and mine off-screen as well. And what ended up happening is the actors, in true method fashion, split into two distinct camps. It was fun to play up the conflict between our characters. But in reality, I’ve always thought of Tom as a friend.”
“My father was in the Air Force, so I’ve heard a lot of flying stories. Most of his are terrifying, though. The fascination of… I’ve flown since I was very young, but I was excited to be able to get to see an aspect of the Navy that civilians can’t see.”
“Can you get a shot of this, please? Whoops.”
“I’ve really got to get you out of those clothes.”
“Excuse me?”
When Michael Keaton turned down Batman Forever, Val took on the role of the Caped Crusader.
“I just said yes without reading the script. I enjoyed the first two very much. It’s a different kind of movie.”
“It’s a very nice costume. I don’t have to wear it all the time. Dark kind of day.”
“This whole performance—”
“Riddle me this!”
“Rudy, was that over the top? I can never tell.”
“I think it makes no difference what I was doing. I tried to be… after how many times I put my hands on my hip, I don’t know how I’m up to, baby.”
Showing his full range as an actor, Val used his own singing voice to play the legendary Jim Morrison in The Doors.
“Strangely, I was given a book about Morrison several times in the last six, seven years, and I never read it. Most of the time, I threw it out.”
“I would watch videos to study Jim’s movements and memorize them. So the way he moved was the way I moved at all times.”
“Sometimes you do homework, and sorry, dear, you have to hear ‘Light My Fire’ another 500 times, you know, or whatever the job was the next day.”
“I’m very sincere about my work. I love it. Very lucky to do it. And I’ve worked with some extraordinary people.”
“Tonight, let me worship you in my arms.”
“Get away from me! I love you!”
Val was married to his Willow co-star, Joanne Whalley, for eight years.
But before that, he was all about Cher. The pair dated for over two years despite a 13-year age difference.
“He’s much younger than I am. But neither one of us were looking for anything. We weren’t looking for anybody. And it just kind of, you know, it kind of just happened.”
Later, Val developed a crush on his Alexander co-star, Angelina Jolie. He joked with us that she had a way of driving men mad.
“I’ve seen Angelina do that to several men. She just drives people crazy. I think she’s an alien ’cause she’s too perfect.”
Val said being a father to his two kids, Jack and Mercedes, was his greatest joy in life.
“I love my children very much. I try to be a good example about life. Yeah.”
“We were talking about things that are scary, and you said the only things that you were afraid of were your dreams.”
“Not many things scare me, but one thing kind of is… it’s not exactly scary, but one thing that I’m concerned about—I’m concerned about making a really beautiful home for you and Jack in New Mexico.”
“Me and my sh—”
Val was shy. He never really accepted the label of being a Hollywood star and was content spending his final days in LA and New Mexico, focusing on his art and living a quieter life.
“I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. I have behaved bizarrely to some. I deny none of this and have no regrets because I’ve lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed. And I am blessed.”
“For a long time, with interviewers, I was afraid. You know, I was just nervous or afraid that somehow my own life would get given away. Because you give so much in acting—or at least I do. I don’t really like the kind of storytelling that doesn’t cost something.”
