Acclaimed actor Val Kilmer, best known for his roles as Iceman in Top Gun and the Dark Knight in Batman Forever, has died at age 65.
His daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, confirmed he passed away from pneumonia on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, surrounded by loved ones.
This was reported by Euronews.
The actor had battled serious health issues since a 2014 throat cancer diagnosis. Though he survived the disease, it left him with a damaged voice and required multiple surgeries, including tracheotomies.
Born in Los Angeles in 1959, Kilmer became the youngest student ever admitted to the prestigious Juilliard School at the time. He made his film debut in the 1984 comedy Top Secret! and soon followed it up with cult favorite Real Genius.
But it was his role as Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in 1986’s Top Gun that made him a household name.
The 1990s saw Kilmer at the height of his fame.
He portrayed rock legend Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s The Doors (1991), a role he prepared for obsessively—even wearing Morrison’s clothes and asking to be addressed only as "Jim" during filming. He earned critical praise for Tombstone (1993) as Doc Holliday, and starred alongside acting titans Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Heat (1995).
But his path wasn’t always smooth.
Kilmer gained a reputation for being “difficult,” a label he didn’t deny.
In his 2020 memoir I’m Your Huckleberry, he reflected on his dedication to his craft—particularly his devotion to the Japanese-inspired Suzuki Method—and admitted it may have alienated some studio executives.
“In an unflinching attempt to empower directors, actors and other collaborators to honour the truth and essence of each project… I had been deemed difficult and alienated the head of every major studio,” he wrote.
The Batman Years and Beyond
In 1995, Kilmer donned the cape and cowl for Batman Forever, stepping into the role vacated by Michael Keaton. The film was a box-office hit, but critical response to his performance was mixed. Kilmer later cited the restrictive batsuit as a major obstacle.
“When you’re in it, you can barely move and people have to help you stand up and sit down,” he said. “It was a struggle for me to get a performance past the suit.”
Though his leading-man star dimmed in the 2000s, Kilmer continued working in a wide range of projects, from indie films to voice roles.
In 2021, he was the subject of Val, a deeply personal and widely praised documentary that gave fans a vulnerable, behind-the-scenes look at his life, health struggles, and reflections on fame.
“I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. I have behaved bizarrely to some,” Kilmer said in the documentary. “I deny none of this and have no regrets because I have lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed.”
