Val Kilmer, the brooding, versatile actor who played fan-favorite Iceman in 'Top Gun,' donned a voluminous cape as Batman in 'Batman Forever' and portrayed Jim Morrison in 'The Doors,' passed away at the age of 65.
Val Kilmer died in Los Angeles, surrounded by family and friends, his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, said in an email to The Associated Press.
Val Kilmer died from pneumonia. He had recovered after a 2014 throat cancer diagnosis that required two tracheotomies'.
“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,” he says toward the end of “Val,” the 2021 documentary on his career. “And I am blessed.”
Thanks to his roles in big-budget blockbusters, Val Kilmer became one of the highest-paid actors of the 1990s. However, his wealth was greatly harmed by his reputation as a difficult person to work with as well as personal financial difficulties, including an expensive divorce.
According to a report in Marca, Spain's national daily tabloid sports newspaper, Val Kilmer got paid $7 million for playing Batman in 'Batman Forever' (1995), which is equivalent to about $12 million in today's times.
Later in 1997, he earned $7 million for 'The Saint' and another $6 million for 'The Island of Dr. Moreau,' bringing his total earnings that year to $13 million.
But in 1999, he got his highest single payday in 'At First Sight,' for which he earned a whopping $9 million at that time.
Despite being such a well-paid actor, the financial setbacks affected Val Kilmer in his later years.
According to reports, he reportedly received $400,000 for playing Iceman again in 'Top Gun: Maverick,' although this was not confirmed.
Val Kilmer, who formerly owned a 6,000-acre ranch in New Mexico, has also made real estate investments. He kept 160 acres until his death but sold the majority of it in 2011 for $18.5 million.
In 2025, Val Kilmer's projected net worth was $10 million, according to Parade and Celebrity Net Worth.
His successful filmography and other endeavors, such as penning a best-selling memoir, are the main sources of his fortune.
Besides his film and TV projects, Val Kilmer also wrote and released a book, ‘I’m Your Huckleberry: A Memoir,’ which was a New York Times bestseller.
His break came in 1984’s spy spoof “Top Secret!” followed by the comedy “Real Genius” in 1985. Kilmer would later show his comedy chops again in films including “MacGruber” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.”
His movie career hit its zenith in the early 1990s as he made a name for himself as a dashing leading man, starring alongside Kurt Russell and Bill Paxton in 1993’s “Tombstone,” as Elvis’ ghost in “True Romance,” and as a bank-robbing demolition expert in Michael Mann’s 1995 film “Heat” with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.
The actor — who took part in the Method branch of Suzuki arts training — threw himself into parts. When he played Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,” he filled his bed with ice for the final scene to mimic the feeling of dying from tuberculosis. To play Morrison, he wore leather pants all the time, asked castmates and crew to only refer to him as Jim Morrison, and blasted The Doors for a year.
That intensity also gave Kilmer a reputation that he was difficult to work with, something he grudgingly agreed with later in life, but always defended himself by emphasizing art over commerce.
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“In an unflinching attempt to empower directors, actors, and other collaborators to honor the truth and essence of each project, an attempt to breathe Suzukian life into a myriad of Hollywood moments, I had been deemed difficult and alienated the head of every major studio,” he wrote in his memoir, “I’m Your Huckleberry.”
One of his more iconic roles — hotshot pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky opposite Tom Cruise — almost didn’t happen. Kilmer was courted by director Tony Scott for “Top Gun” but initially balked. “I didn’t want the part. I didn’t care about the film. The story didn’t interest me,” he wrote in his memoir. He agreed after being promised that his role would improve from the initial script. He would reprise the role in the film’s 2022 sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Kilmer published two books of poetry (including “My Edens After Burns”) and was nominated for a Grammy in 2012 for spoken word album for “The Mark of Zorro.” He was also a visual artist and a lifelong Christian Scientist.
He dated Cher, married and divorced actor Joanne Whalley. He is survived by their two children, Mercedes and Jack.
“I have no regrets,” Kilmer told the AP in 2021. “I’ve witnessed and experienced miracles.” (With AP Inputs)
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