Val Kilmer, the star of '80s and '90s blockbusters including "Top Gun," "Batman Forever" and "Tombstone," has died, according to The Associated Press. He was 65.
The actor's daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, confirmed his death, saying he died Tuesday in Los Angeles, the AP reported.
Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015 and underwent a tracheotomy, which made talking difficult for the actor.
"It's just like any other language or dialect," Kilmer told "Good Morning America" in August 2020 about his difficulties communicating after his tracheotomy. "You have to figure out a way to communicate that's no different than any other acting challenge, but it's just a very unique set of circumstances."
Kilmer, a graduate of the Juilliard School's drama division, began his career as a theater actor in off-Broadway plays before finding Hollywood fame in the early 1980s, displaying a deft hand for comedy with roles in the spy spoof "Top Secret!" and the sci-fi comedy "Real Genius."
Kilmer became a major star when he landed the role of Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in the 1986 aviator blockbuster "Top Gun," alongside Tom Cruise. The film made $344 million at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of the decade.
MORE: Hollywood stars remember Val Kilmer: 'You truly were an icon'He followed the success of "Top Gun" with a string of well-received roles throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s: as the dashing swordsman Madmartigan in Ron Howard's fantasy film "Willow"; as rock icon Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's "The Doors"; and as gunslinger Doc Holliday in the western drama "Tombstone," alongside Kurt Russell. Holliday's signature line in the film -- "I'm your huckleberry" -- became an internet meme favorite and was also the title of Kilmer's 2020 memoir.
In 1995, Kilmer stepped into the role of the Caped Crusader, replacing Michael Keaton in Joel Schumacher's "Batman Forever." The film was a massive box-office success but Kilmer opted not to reprise the role for the next installment. In "Val," the 2021 documentary about his life, Kilmer said he found acting in the Batsuit limiting, saying, "Whatever boyhood excitement I had was crushed by the reality of the Batsuit ... Yes, every boy wants to be Batman. They actually want to be him ... not necessarily play him in a movie."
Also in 1995, Kilmer appeared as a bank robber in Michael Mann's hit crime thriller "Heat," alongside Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.
After a series of box-office and critical disappointments, including the poorly received "The Island of Dr. Moreau," with Marlon Brando, Kilmer appeared more selective in his roles. He voiced Moses in 1998's animated "Prince of Egypt," played a blind man in the 1999 romantic drama "At First Sight," a scientist astronaut in the 2000 sci-fi thriller "Red Planet," and co-starred with Robert Downey Jr. in the 2005 dark comedy "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang."
He also returned to the stage in the mid-2000s, again playing Moses in a Los Angeles production of "The Ten Commandments: The Musical" and appearing on the London stage in "The Postman Always Rings Twice."
Kilmer made a memorable cameo appearance as a pot-farming Sherpa in a 2004 episode of HBO's "Entourage."
In 2012, Kilmer received a Grammy nomination for best spoken word album for the audiobook "The Mark of Zorro."
Kilmer reprised his role as Iceman in "Top Gun: Maverick" in 2022. The film was a massive success, grossing over $1.4 billion at the box office. It was Kilmer's final credited acting role, for which his voice, affected by his earlier illness, was digitally enhanced.
Kilmer was married once, to actress Joanne Whalley, with whom he co-starred in "Willow." They were married for eight years and had two children together before divorcing in 1996.
