The late Val Kilmer had an illustrious acting career in his lifetime, with roles ranging from Batman in Batman Forever to the late Jim Morrison in The Doors biopic.
“Fame wasn’t my priority, and I had it,” Kilmer told The New York Times in May 2020, despite his lengthy list of movie credits. “I was gambling with being able to maintain the status, and I would’ve won my gamble, except for 2008. I just lost my home like a million other people. It was pretty awful.”
Following notable roles in the likes of Tombstone, Heat and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the actor quickly began choosing his future projects carefully based on his passions. Because of this, Kilmer was initially hesitant to play Iceman in the popular Top Gun film.
“I didn’t want the part. I didn’t care about the film. The story didn’t interest me,” the actor wrote in his book I’m Your Huckleberry: A Memoir, noting that he barely tried during his audition. “My agent, who also represented Tom Cruise, basically tortured me into at least meeting Tony Scott saying he was one of the hottest directors in town. … I read the lines indifferently and yet, amazingly, I was told I had the part. I felt more deflated than inflated. I had to get out of there.”
While it took considerable convincing for Kilmer to join the 1986 picture, he was more interested in reprising his role for a quick cameo in the 2022 sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.
Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015 but didn’t publicly share his diagnosis until two years later. He died at age 65 in April 2025. His death certificate released by the Los Angeles County Department of Health confirmed his cause of death was pneumonia.
Scroll down to relive Kilmer’s best roles through the years:
