Iceman, Batman, Morrison: Val Kilmer has passed away

Some loved him in Batman forever, others adored his role in the movie about the Doors, but most know him as Iceman in theTop Ghana.

Val Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, but recovered after undergoing chemotherapy and tracheal surgery, which made it much harder for him to speak.

Who was Val Kilmer?

Val Kilmer

Val Kilmer was born in Los Angeles in 1959. He was one of the youngest students ever accepted into the Juilliard School's acting program, at just 17 years old. He started his career as a theater actor, and became famous in the late 1980s in the film comedies Ton the safe side i Genius, to then get the role of Iceman in the big cinema hit Top Gan.

Then Kilmer got the main role in the epic fantasy Willow by Ron Howard and George Lucas, where he met his future wife - colleague Joanna Vallee, with whom he had two children.

Oliver Stone cast him as Jim Morrison in a biopic Dors, and Kilmer also played Elvis Presley in the film A true romance and Doc Holliday in a western Tombstone. It was this role that landed him the biggest role of his career – Bruce Wayne/Batman in a movie Batman forever. The film received mixed reviews, but was a huge success at the box office, and Kilmer became a huge star, able to command millions in royalties for his roles.

Val Kilmer

Kilmer did not return as the Dark Knight in the next Batman and Robin film, but instead played Simon Templar in the remake Saint, as well as opposite Marlon Brando in the poorly received film The Island of Doctor Moreau. After another failure at the box office in 2000, the film The red planet, Kilmer began accepting roles in smaller, lesser-known films.

In 2005, he starred opposite Robert Downey Jr. in Shane Black's directorial debut, the crime comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang; In 2012, he performed in a monodrama Citizen Twain, in which he portrayed the writer Mark Twain; and in 2017 made a brief appearance in a drama about the music industry Song after song directed by Terrence Malick. He reprized the role of Iceman in the 2022 film Top Gun: Maverick, in which his character became the commander of the United States Pacific Fleet.