Val Kilmer

Kilmer was married to British actress Joanne Whalley from 1988 to 1996. They met while co-starring in Willow and had two children, Mercedes and Jack Kilmer.

He was a lifelong Christian Scientist. He also wrote poetry, including the self-published collection My Edens After Burns, and later released the memoir I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir in 2020.

Kilmer developed an interest in acting at Chatsworth High School in Los Angeles, where Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham were among his classmates. He attended the Juilliard School in New York and became, at 17, the youngest student accepted into its drama division at that time. He began his professional career onstage and made his Broadway debut in The Slab Boys in 1983 alongside Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon.

His first feature film was the spy spoof Top Secret! (1984), in which he played the rock star Nick Rivers and sang the character's songs. He followed it with Real Genius (1985) before playing naval aviator Tom "Iceman" Kazansky opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun (1986). The film made Kilmer a major star. He then played Madmartigan in Ron Howard's fantasy film Willow (1988), where he met Whalley.

Oliver Stone cast Kilmer as Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991). Kilmer learned the lyrics to the band's songs, studied Morrison's poetry and stage performances, and recorded the singing for the film himself. Members of The Doors said his voice was difficult to distinguish from Morrison's, and the performance became one of the defining roles of his career.

Kilmer continued with a series of prominent parts, including an FBI agent in Thunderheart (1992), Elvis Presley in True Romance (1993), and Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993). He appeared with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Michael Mann's Heat (1995), playing professional thief Chris Shiherlis. That same year, he succeeded Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and Batman in Batman Forever. Kilmer declined to return for Batman and Robin, and George Clooney took over the role.

After Batman Forever, Kilmer played Simon Templar in The Saint (1997), voiced Moses and God in The Prince of Egypt (1998), and portrayed a blind man in At First Sight (1999). His later film work included Willem de Kooning in Pollock (2000), Danny Parker in The Salton Sea (2002), John Holmes in Wonderland (2003), Philip II of Macedon in Alexander (2004), and a private detective in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005). He also appeared in Déjà Vu, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, MacGruber, and Twixt.

Kilmer continued performing onstage, including appearances as Hamlet at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and in London's production of The Postman Always Rings Twice. He wrote and performed the one-man show Citizen Twain, portraying Mark Twain and exploring Twain's relationship with Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy. The project became Cinema Twain (2019), his directorial debut. He also voiced the car KITT in the 2008-2009 television series Knight Rider.

Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014. Treatment included chemotherapy, radiation, and two tracheotomies. A tracheal procedure damaged his vocal cords and left him with significant difficulty speaking. He discussed his illness and career in the 2020 memoir I'm Your Huckleberry and the 2021 documentary Val.

He returned to major screen work in Song to Song and The Snowman in 2017. In Top Gun: Maverick (2022), he reprised Tom "Iceman" Kazansky alongside Cruise. Because of the effects of his illness, his voice was digitally altered for the character's brief dialogue. The film was his final screen appearance.

Kilmer died in Los Angeles on April 1, 2025. Pneumonia was listed as the immediate cause of death, with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, chronic respiratory failure, squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue, malnutrition, and a tracheocutaneous fistula listed as underlying conditions.

Following his death, Cruise honored Kilmer at CinemaCon, while Michael Mann, Francis Ford Coppola, Oliver Stone, and John Densmore paid tribute to his work. Saturday Night Live, which Kilmer had hosted in 2000, also honored him with a memorial card.