Hollywood actor Val Kilmer has passed away at the age of 65. The news of the Top Gun & Batman Forever star`s demise was reported by the New York Times. As per the portal, Val passed away in Los Angeles on Tuesday after suffering from pneumonia. Val was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered, shared his daughter.
Val Kilmer’s personal life
Earlier, a documentary made on his life premiered at Cannes in July 2021. That documentary showed him needing a breathing tube. In his personal life, Val married actor Joanne Whalley. The couple, who later got divorced, first met on the set of Ron Howard’s children’s fantasy film Willow (1988). The ace actor is survived by their children, Mercedes and Jack. Val lived on a ranch near Santa Fe for many years.
Val Kilmer on professional front
Val has been one of the most cherished Hollywood actors, and he has been a part of several much-loved films. Most popularly, he gained recognition for playing the role of Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever. Batman Forever was a big box office success when it was released in the summer of 1995, ultimately ranking as the sixth highest-grossing movie globally that year.
Kilmer was recently questioned about reprising the role of Batman explicitly by the interviewer. “Would you have any interest in playing Batman/Bruce Wayne again, even in a cameo?” To which the star simply replied, “Yea, please.”
Apart from Batman, he has also worked in top projects like Top Gun, Real Genius, Tombstone, Heat, and The Saint. He reprised his hit role with 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, although he could no longer speak.
Kilmer, who featured with Cruise in the original Top Gun in 1986, has mostly lost his ability to speak as a result of radiation and chemotherapy for throat cancer.
After working with Kilmer in Top Gun, Tom Cruise had talked about him and shared, “I just want to say, that was pretty emotional… I`ve known Val for decades, and for him to come back and play that character — he`s such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again. You`re looking at Iceman.”
