Val Kilmer, star of "Top Gun" and "Batman," dies at 65

His daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, confirmed to The New York Times that the actor breathed his last breath on the night of April 1 in Los Angeles. After a long battle with throat cancer, he passed away at the age of 65.

Kilmer's film career peaked in the early 1990s, when he made a name for himself through a series of prominent roles in films such as "Tombstone" (1993), as the ghost of Elvis in "True Romance" and as a bomb disposal expert in the blockbuster "Heat" (1995).

“I’ve been bad. I’ve been brave. Some people have found me strange. I don’t deny any of that and I don’t regret it, because I’ve lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed,” Kilmer says at the end of the 2021 documentary “Val” about his career. “And I feel very lucky.”

File photo of actor Val Kilmer at the premiere of Warner Brothers' film Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang in Hollywood on October 18, 2005.

Kilmer was the youngest actor ever accepted into the prestigious Juilliard School when he attended, and had a bumpy career. His first breakthrough role was in the spy film “Top Secret!” (1984), followed by “Real Genius” (1985). He continued to show his comedic chops in films like “MacGruber” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.”

In the 1990s, Kilmer appeared in "Thunderheart," "The Real McCoy," "True Romance," and made a lasting impression as Doc Holliday in "Tombstone" (1993), as well as "Heat" (1995) with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. He also starred in "The Ghost and the Darkness" and "The Saint" — choosing instead to reprise his role as Batman.

Kilmer has always given his all to each role. When playing Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,” he packed his bed with ice to feel the pain of a man dying of tuberculosis. When playing Jim Morrison, he wore leather pants for the entire shoot, asked his co-stars to call him by the rock legend’s real name, and played The Doors for a year.

That dedication also earned Kilmer a reputation as difficult to work with—something he later acknowledged to some extent, but always insisted he put art above commerce.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/val-kilmer-ngoi-sao-cua-top-gun-va-batman-qua-doi-o-tuoi-65-post869558.html