While working with Val on Heat I always marveled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character. After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.
I always liked Val and am sad to hear of his passing. I thought he was a genius actor. I enjoyed working with him on Bad Lieutenant and I admired his commitment and sense of humor. He should have won the Oscar for The Doors.
I am especially sad to hear of Val’s passing, and although we had been in communication over the years – we lived on the same street, shared an attorney and I was aware of his condition –
I find myself still a bit shocked to lose him. My brother Jerry, Jim Abrahams and I, had the distinction of giving Val Kilmer his first movie role in Top Secret!. In his audition he broke into an impromptu Elvis song and blew us away!
I’m remembering Val Kilmer today with great admiration for him as a man and as a generational talent who left us an enviable legacy of indelible acting performances.
His greatest artistic achievements were rivaled only by the grace and courage with which he endured his life’s most challenging moments. Wishing his family so much love. -
Val Kilmer was the most talented actor when in his High School, and that talent only grew greater throughout his life. He was a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know — I will always remember him.
See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those. I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.
A kind, curious, committed, rebellious, and radical gent. I learned from one of the greats. An artist through and through. I treasured my time with you.❤️ Godspeed buddy.
The Doors. Top Secret! Tombstone. Top Gun. Real Genius. Willow. Batman Forever. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. True Romance. Macgruber. Heat. There was nobody like Val Kilmer. May he Rest in Peace.
A long time ago, I was auditioning for the movie ‘The Doors’ It was kind of a cattle call. They paired together potential Jims with potential Pamela‘s. And they were running behind so we were spilling out of the casting office, sitting on the porch, the lawn, and the driveway.
All of a sudden, a sixties convertible came screeching up, blaring Doors Music at top volume. And a guy jumped out and strode inside: He had wild hair and he was barefoot, shirtless, and wearing nothing but a pair of tight leather pants.
We all looked at each other like … Who is this guy? We were more than a little shook by the sheer audacity of his entrance. Well of course it was Val Kilmer and from that minute on, nobody else stood a chance. Rip King.
Val Kilmer should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Tombstone and for Heat. He was a brilliant presence in some of the most enduring films of his generation. Rest well. Thank you for the incredible work.
Listen, Val Kilmer had me wanting to fly fighter jets, be Batman, rob banks, and hunt lions as a kid. They don’t make too many movie stars like him anymore. Generational.
Rest In Peace Val Kilmer, an absolute legend. He played some of my favorite characters in some of my favorite movies of all time. Condolences to his family 🫶 He was 65.
I spent the most bizarre 5 months of my entire life with Val Kilmer, out in the Australian rainforest, on the ill-fated Island of Dr Moreau. It was so spectacularly bleak and awful it was almost wonderful. Look it up sometime.
As Val wrote in his final mail to me: ‘What an incredible story we lived, you and I. One of the greatest.’ Bittersweet to be back here in Australia and hear the heartbreaking news. He was one of the most extraordinary people I have ever met. Proud to have called him a friend and co-conspirator.
He was one of the main reasons I wanted to become an actor and why I felt it was so important for me to seek out classical training. He could do it all… drama, comedy, classical… He was great with a sword, a gun, a fighter jet, or a shot cup.
Then on top of all of that, he could sing… case in point: for most of my life when I tried to picture Jim Morrison, I could only see him. His performances were brave and intelligent, and he showed me that you didn’t always have to be the star in order to make the most impact.
If the situation presented itself, you could take a tiny, nothing part on paper and elevate it into a scene stealer. Oh, and he got to be Batman. RIP to one of the all time greats…
Rest in peace to our former campus mate, the great Val Kilmer (1959-2025), who at 17 was the youngest drama student ever admitted to The Julliard School’s Drama Division.