Val Kilmer

December 31, 2024

Fast Facts
Background
Career Timeline
Why We Love
Surprising Facts
FAQs

Val Edward Kilmer, born on December 31, 1959, is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after starring in several comedy films, starting with “Top Secret!” and “Real Genius.” He has also starred in action films, including a supporting role in “Top Gun” and a larger role in “Willow.” Let’s celebrate his birthday with exciting insights into his life right here.

Fast Facts

Full Name:

Val Edward Kilmer

Birth date:

December 31, 1959

Age:

Zodiac Sign:

Capricorn

Height:

5' 11.65"

Relationship Status:

Divorced

Net Worth:

$25 million

Background

Val Kilmer was born in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley with his two brothers, older Mark and younger Wesley (who died at 15, due to an epileptic fit in a swimming pool). He attended a Christian Science prep school in Los Angeles from kindergarten to ninth grade. He then attended Chatsworth High School, where he was a classmate of Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham. He later attended the Hollywood Professional School and Juilliard School. At age 17, he was the youngest student ever accepted into the Juilliard drama program.

Kilmer got his start in films such as “Top Secret” and “Real Genius.” He rose to success as a supporting actor in the movie “Top Gun” in 1986, but his big moment came when he played, with perfection, the legendary Jim Morrison, lead singer and songwriter of the band The Doors, in the film “The Doors,” by Oliver Stone, in 1991. He went on to make many adventure films. In two of them, he played famous comic book heroes: “Batman Forever” and “The Saint.” Despite preferring the theater to the big screen, he has gained a lot of recognition for the films he has made in the last decade. The actor also wrote and directed a video documentary about nuclear weapons called “Journey to Victory.” Despite the heavy subject matter, Kilmer says his work is primarily about people, their fears, and hopes for the future.

Throughout the 2000s, Kilmer’s career seemed to collapse. His films are released directly to D.V.D., and he is no longer the main character. And in October 2016, actor Michael Douglas declared that Kilmer, his longtime friend, had cancer. Kilmer even denied the rumor but, later, the actor confirmed that he was being treated for cancer, although he did not specify what type it was. It was later revealed that he was suffering from throat cancer, and on April 21, 2020, he gave a rare interview on the show “Good Morning America,” in which he spoke about the tracheostomy he had to help him breathe. He also said that he felt much better than he looked.

Career timeline

1981

Kilmer Makes His Theater Debut

Contrary to what many think, Kilmer doesn’t make his acting debut in a movie, but rather in the theater in the famous Shakespeare play “Henry IV, Part 1.”

1984

He Makes His Movie Debut

Kilmer makes his movie debut in the comedy “Top Secret!”

1986

He Lands His Break-Out Role

Kilmer stars in the box-office hit “Top Gun” alongside Tom Cruise.

1991

Kilmer Cements His Success

After the success of “Top Gun,” Kilmer plays the brilliant Jim Morrison, frontman of rock band The Doors, in the eponymous movie “The Doors.”

2004

He Returns to the Theater

Kilmer returns to the theater to play Moses in the musical “The Ten Commandments: The Musical.”

2022

He Stars in the Latest “Top Gun”

Kilmer reprises his role as Admiral Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky in “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Why We Love Val Kilmer

He is incredibly talented
Kilmer did all his own singing in “The Doors” with no playback! Even former members of The Doors were impressed with Kilmer’s vocals. And so were we!
He does charity work
He has a giant heart! He volunteered to work with AmeriCares in 1998, with whom he visited Iraq to deliver food, medicine, and baby food.
He really cares about people
He made several trips to New Orleans in 2005 to help with Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. He also is a supporter of Native American affairs and an advocate of environmental protection.

5 Surprising Facts

He rode horses as a child
He grew up riding horses at Charles Manson’s hideout.
He wrote a book
His book is named after his famous line in “Tombstone:” “I’m your Huckleberry.”
He takes his work very seriously
So serious that his costars in “Top Secret!” had to remind him to have some fun.
He dated Cher
Cher and Kilmer were involved in a relationship from 1982 to 1984.
He met his ex-wife on set
He met his ex-wife, British actress Joanne Whalley while filming “Willow” in 1987.

Val Kilmer FAQs

Why doesn’t Val Kilmer talk in “Top Gun: Maverick?”

Going into “Top Gun: Maverick,” Kilmer’s appearance was a big question mark. The actor lost his ability to speak after having throat cancer treatment in 2014. Instead of leaving Kilmer out of the long-anticipated sequel, the writers wove Kilmer’s story into the character.

Why did Val Kilmer stop acting?

In December 2017, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Kilmer had gone through a “two-year battle with throat cancer” and that “a procedure on his trachea has reduced his voice to a rasp and rendered him short of breath.”

Are Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell friends?

Both Russell and Kilmer were good friends in real life, and their chemistry spills over into the film (”Tombstone”). They work beautifully together and are very successful in making us believe why Earp and Holliday were such great pals who would lay down their lives for each other.