From 'Top Gun' to 'Batman Forever' to 'The Doors' the late Val Kilmer was easily one of the most versatile actors of his generation captivating audiences and critics alike since his rise in the 1980's. So, The Hollywood Reporter is breaking down the 8 Roles We Love from Val Kilmer.
00:08You look like somebody just walked out your grave.
00:11From Top Gun to Batman Forever to The Doors,
00:14the late Val Kilmer was easily one of the most versatile actors of his generation,
00:18captivating audiences and critics alike since his rise in the 1980s.
00:23So right now, we're breaking down eight roles we love from Val Kilmer.
00:30Kilmer's big break came in 1984 with the comedy spy spoof Top Secret.
00:41The actor starred as a rock and roll teen idol sent to East Germany to perform at a music festival,
00:47but instead involved in an absurd Cold War espionage plot.
00:51Kilmer sang all the songs in the film and released an album under the film's character's name, Nick Rivers.
00:57What's your problem, Kazanski?
01:00You're everyone's problem.
01:02That's because every time you go up in the air, you're unsafe.
01:05Just two years later in 1986, Kilmer rose to prominence with his role as Iceman in Top Gun.
01:11The film starring Tom Cruise became a pop culture phenomenon,
01:14showcasing Kilmer's charisma as the cocky fighter pilot who goes toe-to-toe with Cruise's Maverick.
01:20The actor reprised his role for the mega-hit sequel Top Gun Maverick in 2022,
01:25which went on to score six Oscar nominations.
01:35Kilmer earned major critical acclaim for his work as Jim Morrison in 1991's The Doors.
01:41The Oliver Stone project followed the L.A. band's iconic frontman who succumbed to drugs in 1971 at age 27.
01:48The actor took months to prepare for the role, and he recorded his baritone voice against the backing of original Doors' master tapes for the film.
01:56Oh, Johnny, I apologize. I forgot you were there. You may go now.
02:03One of Kilmer's most celebrated performances came in 1993 when he portrayed Doc Holliday in Tombstone.
02:09The film follows a band of brothers restoring order to a lawless land
02:13and is loosely based on real events that took place in the 1880s in Tombstone, Arizona.
02:19Kilmer compelled with his scene-stealing turn as the doomed Holliday, a sickly alcoholic who's quick on the draw.
02:25I see without seeing. To me, darkness is as clear as daylight. What am I?
02:33In 1995, Kilmer took up the mantle vacated by Michael Keaton to star as the moody-caped crusader in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever.
02:42He became the second actor to portray Batman on the big screen after Keaton and a long line of Batmans thereafter.
02:48Director Schumacher even once said,
02:50For me, Val Kilmer was the best Batman.
02:52For me, the sun rises and sets with her, man.
02:57Yeah.
02:59Yeah.
03:00Also in 1995, Kilmer starred alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Michael Mann's Heat,
03:06the critically acclaimed crime saga where a master criminal and LAPD detective face off.
03:12Kilmer played a key supporting role as De Niro's right-hand man.
03:16Listen, if you think giving away everything in front of the world,
03:20preventing us from making an unimaginable fortune will accomplish anything.
03:25You're absolutely right.
03:27In 1997, he was back in an action role in The Saint, playing a suave international thief who comes back for one last job,
03:35but gets caught in a web of espionage and romance.
03:38I put in one bullet, didn't I?
03:40You put a live round in that gun?
03:41Oh yeah, there was like an 8% chance.
03:438%?
03:448%?
03:45Yeah!
03:46Who taught you math?
03:47And in 2005, Kilmer starred opposite Robert Downey Jr. in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,
03:51a dark comedy about a petty thief who gets caught up in a Hollywood murder mystery while posing as an actor.
03:57Kilmer played a sarcastic private detective in the crime comedy-turned-cult classic.
04:02And still, Kilmer had many more roles that audiences remember.
04:06For more on the life and legacy of Val Kilmer, as well as other roles we love, head to THR.com.
04:13And for the latest entertainment news and updates, keep watching The Hollywood Reporter News.
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