Val Kilmer Dies Aged 65

Beloved actor Val Kilmer has died at the age of 65 in Los Angeles, his family has confirmed. Kilmer had long faced throat cancer, of which he received a diagnosis in 2014; his daughter Mercedes has said the cause of his death was pneumonia.

After becoming one of the youngest students ever accepted to acting school Juilliard, entering their program at 17, Kilmer went on to star in multiple cinematic favourites. Following roles in Top Secret! And Real Genius, he broke out with his role as pilot Iceman in 1986’s Top Gun. From there, he played swordsman Madmartigan in Ron Howard’s fantasy Willow, on which he met his future wife (and mother of his children) Joanne Whalley. Through the early ‘90s, he starred as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s The Doors biopic, played Doc Holliday in Western hit Tombstone, and briefly popped up as the spirit of Elvis in True Romance.

In the mid-‘90s, Kilmer took on two of his most iconic roles. He took over from Michael Keaton as Batman in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever, though he and the director famously did not get on during production. In the same year, he played Chris Shiherlis in Heat, part of McCauley’s crew. While Kilmer starred in famous flops in the early ‘00s – including sci-fi Red Planet and Oliver Stone’s Alexander – he received huge acclaim for 2005’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, teamed up with Robert Downey Jr. in Shane Black’s laugh-packed neo-noir. He re-teamed with Top Gun director Tony Scott for 2006’s Déjà Vu, starred for Werner Herzog in Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans, and memorably played villain Dieter Von Cunth in cult comedy MacGruber.

Kilmer still worked in the wake of his cancer diagnosis, appearing in Terence Malick’s Song To Song, crime thriller The Snowman, and more. He produced and wrote autobiographical documentary Val in 2021, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo, which received major critical acclaim. Most poignantly, his final role came in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick – reprising the role of Iceman for one of the most affecting scenes in the film, alongside his old co-star Tom Cruise.

Kilmer’s cinematic legacy will be long remembered. Our thoughts are with his friends, family, and loved ones.