Val Kilmer

1959–2025

Val Kilmer Now: The Doors, Top Gun Star Dies at Age 65

Val Kilmer, the actor who played the infamous Iceman in Top Gun and took on the role of the caped crusader in Batman Forever, died in Los Angeles on April 1. The 65-year-old’s cause of death was pneumonia, according to his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer. The illness followed the actor’s 2014 throat cancer diagnosis that required a tracheostomy, chemotherapy, and radiation before going into remission.

“I’ve lived a magical life,” Kilmer said in the 2021 documentary Val. “I’ve captured quite a bit of it.” The versatile actor led a storied career, first gaining recognition for his performance in 1986’s Top Gun and skyrocketing to fame for his portrayal of rock musician Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.

After playing the title role in Batman Forever in 1995—a role that failed to impress even Kilmer—the Los Angeles native appeared in a string of less successful movies before making a comeback with MacGruber in 2010. He took a break from acting following his cancer diagnosis but later returned to the screen in 2017’s Song to Song. Kilmer appeared in his final film in 2022, reprising his famed role as Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick.

Who Was Val Kilmer?

Actor Val Kilmer rose to fame in the 1980s with a role in Top Gun and was later known for portraying rockstar Jim Morrison in The Doors and his inauspicious turn as Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever. The Los Angeles native was 17 when he became the youngest person to be accepted into Juilliard’s drama program at the time. His first major role was as Navy pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun. After his breakthrough in The Doors, his career bounced from the Western Tombstone to crime thrillers like Heat and the dramas The Ghost and the Darkness and The Salton Sea. Kilmer was married to fellow actor Joanne Whalley for several years before divorcing. In 2014, he was diagnosed with throat cancer; his treatment was successful, though his voice was permanently damaged from surgery. Kilmer died at age 65 in April 2025.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Val Edward Kilmer
BORN: December 31, 1959
DIED: April 1, 2025
BIRTHPLACE: Los Angeles, California
SPOUSE: Joanne Whalley (1988–1996)
CHILDREN: Mercedes and Jack
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Capricorn

Early Life

Val Edward Kilmer was born on December 31, 1959, in Los Angeles. The son of an aerospace equipment distributor and a real estate developer, Kilmer’s parents divorced when he was a child. Tragedy struck years later when his younger brother, Wesley, drowned after having an epileptic seizure; the 15-year-old died while on the way to the hospital. His brother’s death later informed Kilmer’s performance in the 2002 movie The Salton Sea.

He began acting while at Chatsworth High School. His classmates there included Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham, who also became famous actors. Kilmer later attended the Hollywood Professional School and the Juilliard School in New York City, where the 17-year-old was the youngest student to be accepted to the drama division at the time. He became a method actor.

Movies

Val Kilmer first caught public attention for his role as Navy pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in 1986’s Top Gun.

Kilmer began his professional career in the New York theater scene. He had several roles in the early 1980s, including in the drama The Slab Boys with fellow cast members Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon. Come 1984, Kilmer made his film debut in the spy spoof Top Secret! A string of supporting parts, including as the roommate in Real Genius (1985), followed. But his breakout was right around the corner.

Top Gun and The Doors

Another supporting role materialized in the form of Navy pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in Top Gun (1986). Initially, Kilmer wasn’t interested in the Tom Cruise vehicle. “I didn’t want the part. I didn’t care about the film. The story didn’t interest me,” Kilmer later wrote in his memoir. But the rising actor was convinced when director Tony Scott promised Iceman’s role would develop from the original script. Top Gun ultimately became the top grossing movie of 1986, earning nearly $177 million at the global box office.

Portraying Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991) launched Val Kilmer into stardom.

Now a familiar face, Kilmer received his true breakthrough role in 1991 as rock icon Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s The Doors. The film allowed the actor to show off another talent, as his own singing voice was recorded for the soundtrack.

Tombstone, True Romance, and Batman Forever

Kilmer followed this success by portraying other American legends in two of his next movies: gunslinger Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993) and the spirit of Elvis Presley in True Romance (1993). It was during this period in his career that Kilmer earned a reputation for being difficult to work with. The actor notably clashed with Michael Apted while working on Thunderheart (1992) and with Joel Schumacher during the filming of Batman Forever (1995).

Val Kilmer and Nicole Kidman costarred in the widely panned 1995 movie Batman Forever.

Kilmer’s turn as Bruce Wayne was notably poor, which the actor blamed his character’s iconic outfit. “It was a struggle for me to get a performance past the suit, and it was frustrating until I realized that my role in the film was just to show up and stand where I was told to,” Kilmer shared in a 2021 documentary about his life and career. After refusing to repeat the role, Kilmer broke his Batman contract and went on to other projects.

Heat, The Ghost and the Darkness, and The Salton Sea

Following Batman Forever, Kilmer signed on for the crime thriller Heat (1995), along with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. In 1996, he costarred with Michael Douglas in The Ghost and the Darkness.

During the late 1990s, Kilmer delivered a string of less-than-successful performances, including in the movies The Saint (1997), At First Sight (1999), and Joe the King (1999). After lending his booming voice to the role of Moses in the animated movie The Prince of Egypt in 1998, he returned to form as a tormented drug addict in The Salton Sea (2002). Kilmer drew upon his younger brother’s untimely death decades earlier to portray his character, Danny Parker, who is haunted by witnessing his wife’s murder.

Alexander and Déjà Vu

In 2004, Kilmer portrayed Philip II of Macedon in Alexander, appearing alongside Angelina Jolie and Colin Farrell. Two years later, he played FBI agent Paul Pryzwarra in the film Déjà Vu, starring Denzel Washington. Kilmer went on to earn notable roles in Conspiracy (2008), Double Identity (2009), and The Traveler (2010), while voicing the supercar KITT in a reboot of the hit 1980s series Knight Rider.

MacGruber and Planes

Kilmer continued contributing to films across a range of genres, including the farcical comedy MacGruber (2010), the horror flick Twixt (2011), and the Disney animated feature Planes (2013). He also starred as Mark Twain in Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn (2014), before launching a one-man stage show about the famed writer and humorist.

The Snowman and Top Gun: Maverick

Following a cancer-induced hiatus from the screen, Kilmer surfaced in the romantic drama Song to Song and the suspenseful The Snowman in 2017. His illness prompted a tracheostomy that permanently altered his speaking ability, so both parts were small. For The Snowman, his voice was dubbed.

His final role was a return to the character that first brought Kilmer to the public’s attention: “Iceman” Tom Kazansky. The actor briefly reprised the role alongside Tom Cruise’s Maverick for the massively successful sequel Top Gun: Maverick. The 2022 blockbuster made nearly $1.5 billion in ticket sales worldwide and was credited with saving movie theaters in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ex-Wife Joanne Whalley and Children

Actors Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley were married for eight years, during which time they had two kids.

In 1988, Kilmer married fellow actor Joanne Whalley. They had met on the set of Willow the year prior and had two children. Their daughter, Mercedes, was born in 1991, followed by their son, Jack, in 1995. Kilmer and Whalley divorced a year later.

Kilmer’s affairs offscreen kept the media on watch. This included liaisons with singer and actor Cher in the early 1980s then model Cindy Crawford, actor Daryl Hannah, and actor Michelle Pfeiffer after his marriage deteriorated.

Cancer

In January 2015, Kilmer was hospitalized after having emergency surgery performed on his throat. In April 2017, he finally confirmed the longstanding rumors that he was battling throat cancer. The lifelong Christian Scientist wasn’t eager for medical intervention in keeping with his religious faith but decided to undergo treatment anyway on account of his children. He had a tracheostomy that permanently damaged his vocal cords as well as radiation and chemotherapy. Ultimately, the cancer went into remission.

In late 2017, the actor opened up about how things had changed since his cancer diagnosis. “I was too serious,” he told The Hollywood Reporter, recounting his days as an A-lister. “I’d get upset when things like Oscars and recognition failed to come my way.”

Kilmer shared more details about his experiences as a cancer patient in his 2020 memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry, revealing that ex-girlfriend Cher had helped him get through some of his toughest times.

The movie star died of pneumonia on April 1, 2025, at age 65 in his hometown.

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