Val Kilmer, Star of ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Batman Forever,’ Dies at 65

The actor died from pneumonia, his family confirmed.

Actor Val Kilmer attends the 2004 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Hollywood, Calif., on Feb. 29, 2004. Mark Mainz/Getty Images

Actor Val Kilmer, best known for his roles in such movies as “Top Gun,” “The Doors,” and “Batman Forever,” died on April 1 at age 65, his daughter confirmed to the media.

Kilmer died from pneumonia, Mercedes Kilmer said in an email to The Associated Press. He was in Los Angeles and surrounded by family and friends at the time of his death, she said.

The California-born actor was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered, she stated.

At 17, Kilmer was the youngest actor ever accepted into the drama division of the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City in 1981. He launched his professional acting career on stage before making his feature debut in the 1984 spy spoof “Top Secret!” followed by the comedy “Real Genius” in 1985.

It was his breakout role as the Iceman in Tony Scott’s 1986 “Top Gun,” in which he starred opposite Tom Cruise, that made him a household name.

Following its success, Kilmer went on to star in multiple movies in a career that spanned decades, including Oliver Stone’s 1991 drama “The Doors,” in which he played Jim Morrison, the charismatic but doomed lead singer of the influential rock band The Doors.

He also appeared as Old West gunfighter Doc Holliday in the 1993 Western “Tombstone” and co-starred alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as master thief Chris Shiherlis in director Michael Mann’s 1995 bank heist drama “Heat.”

In 1995, Kilmer succeeded Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader in “Batman Forever,” appearing alongside Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, and Tommy Lee Jones.

Director Joel Schumacher later called Kilmer “the most psychologically troubled human being” he'd ever worked with.

Things appeared to worsen for Kilmer on the 1996 movie “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” when he reportedly clashed with co-star Marlon Brando, while the production was riddled with various issues. The movie ultimately flopped.

John Frankenheimer, who directed the film, told Premiere magazine in 1997 that there were two things he would never do in his life: “I will never climb Mt. Everest and I will never work with Val Kilmer again. There isn’t enough money in the world.”

In his 2020 memoir, “I’m Your Huckleberry,” Kilmer wrote that he was as sad as he'd “ever been” on the set of the panned movie.

Following “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” Kilmer starred in the 1996 movie “The Ghost and the Darkness” alongside Michael Douglas, as well as “The Saint” in 1997 and “Joe the King” in 1999. He also appeared in 2003’s “Wonderland,” 2004’s human-trafficking thriller “Spartan,” 2005’s “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” 2010’s “MacGruber,” and 2019’s “Cinema Twain,” in which he played Mark Twain.

Cancer Diagnosis

In 2014, following a cancer diagnosis, Kilmer underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments, as well as a tracheostomy that left him with a permanently raspy voice.

Post-cancer, he appeared in 2017’s “The Snowman” and the 2020 movie “Paydirt,” which also featured his daughter. He also reprised his role in the 2022 “Top Gun” sequel “Top Gun: Maverick.”

“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 have lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed. And I am blessed,” Kilmer said in the 2021 documentary “Val” about his career.

Kilmer married actress Joanne Whalley in 1988 after meeting her on the set of Ron Howard’s fantasy “Willow,” and the couple had two children before divorcing in 1996. He is survived by those children, Mercedes and Jack.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Kilmer’s representatives for comment.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.