Obituary: Val Kilmer Dies Aged 65

I’ve been writing about movies for nearly 20 years and I’ve written many obituaries (too many) about filmmakers and actors that I have admired. Writing about Val Kilmer’s death is a tough one. I’ve been a fan for over 30 years – probably from when I snuck into 1993’s Tombstone at the age of 14 (it was a 15 certificate in the UK), but most certainly from Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever in 1995.

As a performer, Val Kilmer was offbeat, playful and intense. He was a gifted and charismatic star – a character actor who looked like a leading man and he excelled in an eclectic mix of roles, from Top Gun, Willow, The Doors, Tombstone, Batman Forever, Heat, The Saint, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and many more across his career.

Kilmer was an actor who was difficult to pin down  (and often just difficult) – but he always made bold character choices and delivered note-perfect performances across a variety of genres. Were the films always successful? No, but he was always great in them. 

Born on December 31, 1959, in Los Angeles, California, Kilmer became the youngest person to be accepted into the Juilliard School’s Drama Division – and made his screen debut in the comedy Top Secret! – a spoof from Airplane! trio Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker.  

Real Genius and Top Gun put Kilmer on the map. It’s totally preposterous and everything is style over substance, but Tony Scott‘s film is hugely captivating popcorn fare. Tom Cruise took to the skies in the energetic aeronautical action pic and it not only showed-off Cruise’s burgeoning movie star charisma – but also Kilmer’s. 

This Simpson/Bruckheimer production was loaded with a pulsating soundtrack and a great supporting cast. Top Gun isn’t high art – but it is 1980s Hollywood movie-making at its most bombastic (and I mean that in good way). 

Then came the Ron Howard-directed/George Lucas-produced Willow (where he met his future wife, Joanne Whalley – who also co-starred in Kill Me Again). One of his most iconic roles was in Oliver Stone’s 1989 Jim Morrison biopic, The Doors. Kilmer inhibited the role – essentially becoming Morrison. He even did his own signing in the movie – turning down a recording contract in the process. 

Michael Apted’s Native American FBI drama, Thnderheart followed as did the iconic western, Tombstone – where Kilmer played Doc Holliday opposite Kurt Russell’s Wyatt Earp. It’s a monumentally thrilling film – and Kilmer steals the movie from under a top-tier cast.

In 1995 Joel Schumacher took over the directing reins of the Batman franchise from Tim Burton for Batman Forever. Recasting Batman and replacing Michael Keaton with the younger and more athletic Val Kilmer – this version of Batman was more child-friendly and commercial – right down to Jim Carrey’s casting as The Riddler. The introduction of Robin also helped to lighten the character and Tommy Lee Jone’s Two-Face was a half-lightened version of the comic character.

Financially more successful than Batman Returns it appeared Schumacher’s neon-lit Gotham City was what enthusiasts of the franchise desired. Kilmer was excellent as Batman/Bruce Wayne and he brought a dash of suave playboy style to the character – something which wasn’t present in Michael Keaton‘s turn as The Dark Knight.

HG Wells’ 1896 novel The Island Of Doctor Moreau was adapted for the screen for the troubled 1996 film starring Kilmer, Marlon Brando and David Thewlis. Now infamous, the film was originally set to be directed by Richard Stanley (Hardware) but he was removed from the production and replaced by John Frankenheimer. There were all sorts of issues on set. Brando was at his most eccentric, while Kilmer was cast in the lead, only to decide that he wanted to take on the supporting role of Moreau’s assistant, Montgomery. The main role was then given to Thewlis

Tensions ran high and rumour has it that Stanley would sneak onto the set to watch the carnage; dressed as one of the extras (some say he also tried to sabotage the production). The relationship between Frankenheimer and Kilmer was at breaking point – the director once stated he would never do two things: climb Mount Everest and work with Kilmer again.

The completed film is quite a curio, it didn’t set the box office on fire, but there’s something ballsy about it. It’s not quite the sum of its parts but it’s worth seeing. Budgeted at $40 million, The Island Of Doctor Moreau grossed $27 million at the US box office and over $49 million globally.

The 1996 release, The Ghost And The Darkness is something of an under-appreciated film. The Val Kilmer–Michael Douglas pic grossed just $38 million at the US box office when it was released, but as we know – box office isn’t everything. It’s a wonderfully well-put-together, old-fashioned adventure film/thriller. Jaws with Paws, if you will. 

Written by William Goldman, it’s a fictionalised account of the Tsavo Man-Eaters, two lions which attacked and killed workers in Tsavo, Kenya during the building of the Uganda-Mombasa Railway in East Africa in 1898.

The cast was great – but the behind-the-scenes talent on the film was also outstanding. The aforementioned Hopkins and Goldman were joined by cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and composer Jerry Goldsmith. 

Fun fact: Val Kilmer was researching his role for the film when he got the part of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Forever.

Leslie Charteris’ The Saint (aka Simon Templar) was made famous by Roger Moore in the 1960s and Kilmer played the character in an underrated movie from Phillip Noyce in 1997. 

Noyce’s film didn’t get great reviews from critics when it opened in April 1997 – a shame because it’s actually a fun flick with great performances from Kilmer and Elizabeth Shue. It has the same tone as Mission: Impossible (another Paramount Picture), which was released the previous year to better reviews and a bigger box office. In an alternate world, we’d be on The Saint 6 by now.

The 2002 release, The Salton Sean is a modern-day film noir which features another great Val Kilmer performance.

A strong feature debut from D. J. Caruso, it has an off-beat sensibility and the first half in particular has a surreal tone and a drugged-out vibe. The second half delves into more familiar thriller territory but it manages to keep to its own path. The visuals are strong too – but the main reason to watch this is for Kilmer’s textured and tortured performance. The supporting cast is also very strong with Vincent D’Onofrio, Adam Goldberg, Luis Guzman, Doug Hutchison Anthony LaPaglia and Deborah Kara Unger all making their mark. It’s a dark piece, but there’s plenty of humour woven into its tapestry. This is a little seen curio which is worth seeking out. 

David Mamet‘s 2004 pic, Spartan is an excellent political thriller which features yet another first-rate turn by Kilmer. The film might be played straight, but there’s plenty of humour laced throughout Mamet’s punchy script. Spartan is a film which is a must for fans of the genre but sadly this wasn’t widely seen during its cinematic release –  hopefully, it will now find a wider audience.

Famed screenwriter, Shane Black made his directorial debut in 2005 with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Black’s film, based on Brett Halliday’s novel, Bodies Are Where You Find Them is a near-flawless modern noir and the script sizzles with wit and one-liners. It’s a film which sits nicely beside other Christmas-set Black scripted efforts like Renny Harlin’s The Long Kiss Goodnight and Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon. 

Stars Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer were pitch-perfect as in the lead roles. The duo played a mismatched pair attempting to solve a murder.  Kilmer was post-Batman, Downey was pre-Iron Man and they share great chemistry in this witty Christmas Noir. Michelle Monaghan and Corbin Bernsen co-star in the Joel Silver-produced pic. 

A bout with throat cancer in 2015 slowed down Kilmer’s career, but he still managed to make several more films – the most poignant being 2002’s Top Gun: Maverick – which saw him once again share the screen with Tom Cruise.

Playing a cancer-stricken, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, the film is a fitting send-off for Kilmer – a bookend to a great career. Val Kilmer might not have been one of Hollywood’s biggest stars – but he was one of its brightest and his loss will surely resonate for those who love movies – and movie stars. 

Val Kilmer – 1959 – 2025.