Hollywood remembers 'wonderful' actor Val Kilmer

Directors including Ron Howard, Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Mann person paid tribute to histrion Val Kilmer, pursuing his decease aged 65.

Kilmer starred successful immoderate of the biggest movies of the 1980s and 90s, including Top Gun and Batman Forever.

Coppola described Kilmer arsenic "a fantastic idiosyncratic to enactment with and a joyousness to know", portion Howard praised his "awesome scope arsenic an actor".

Singer Cher, a erstwhile woman of Kilmer's, summed him up arsenic "funny, crazy, symptom successful the ass, GREAT FRIEND" and "brave" during his illness.

Kilmer died of pneumonia connected Tuesday successful Los Angeles, his girl Mercedes told US media. She said her begetter had been diagnosed with pharynx crab successful 2014 but aboriginal recovered.

Tracheotomy country affected his dependable and curtailed his acting career, but helium returned to the surface to reprise his relation arsenic combatant aviator Iceman alongside Tom Cruise successful 2022's Top Gun: Maverick.

Kilmer's different movie credits included 1991's The Doors - playing the legendary band's frontman Jim Morrison - positive the Western Tombstone and transgression play Heat.

Paying tribute connected Instagram, Heat manager Mann said: "While moving with Val I ever marvelled astatine the range, the superb variability wrong the almighty existent of Val's possessing and expressing character.

"After truthful galore years of Val battling illness and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously bittersweet news," helium said.

Coppola, who directed Kilmer successful 2011's Twixt, said successful a statement: "Val Kilmer was the astir talented histrion erstwhile successful his High School, and that endowment lone grew greater passim his life.

"He was a fantastic idiosyncratic to enactment with and a joyousness to cognize - I volition ever retrieve him."

Howard, who made 1988's Willow, remembered Kilmer's "amazing" filmography and praised his "awesome scope arsenic an actor".

"His creation extended to his poetry, artworks, filmmaking and simply the mode helium lived," helium wrote. "Bon Voyage, Val and convey you."

"See ya, pal. I'm going to miss you," US histrion Josh Brolin wrote alongside a representation of himself and Kilmer connected Instagram.

"You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There's not a batch near of those", helium added.

British histrion David Thewlis, who worked with Kilmer connected 1996's ill-fated The Island of Dr Moreau, posted: "He was 1 of the astir bonzer radical I person ever met. Proud to person called him a person and co-conspirator."

Fellow Brit Will Kemp, who appeared successful 2004 movie Mindhunters with Kilmer, wrote: "So galore large memories of moving with him. He was fun, unpredictable, generous and wide precise benignant to maine erstwhile I was precise caller to the job."

Actor Josh Gad posted: "RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining truthful galore of the movies of my childhood. You genuinely were an icon."

James Woods wrote: "His rendition of Doc Holliday successful Tombstone was what each histrion dreams of achieving. So galore fantastic performances. Sad to suffer him truthful soon."

Born Val Edward Kilmer connected 31 December 1959, Kilmer grew up successful a middle-class household successful Los Angeles.

His parents were Christian Scientists, a question to which Kilmer would adhere for the remainder of his life.

Aged 17, helium became the then-youngest pupil to enrol astatine the Julliard School, successful New York, 1 of the world's astir prestigious play conservatories.

He made his sanction successful the comedies Top Secret! successful 1984 and Real Genius the pursuing year, earlier cementing his acting credentials arsenic Iceman, the nemesis to Cruise's quality Maverick successful 1986's Top Gun, 1 of the decade's defining movies.

Kilmer went connected to prima successful phantasy Willow and transgression thriller Kill Me Again - some alongside British histrion Joanne Whalley, who helium joined successful 1988. The mates had 2 children.

He further proved his dynamic and versatile talents erstwhile helium convincingly portrayed stone frontman Morrison successful The Doors, 20 years aft the singer's death.

Tombstone, successful which Kilmer played gunfighter Doc Holliday, and Heat, successful which helium appeared alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, were besides hits.

He took implicit Batman's cape from Michael Keaton for Batman Forever successful 1995, which achieved container bureau occurrence but mixed reviews, and Kilmer pulled retired of the adjacent Batman movie.

In 1997, helium appeared successful The Saint arsenic the maestro transgression and maestro of disguise - based connected Leslie Charteris' books, which had besides inspired the 1960s TV amusement starring Roger Moore.

Kilmer voiced some God and Moses successful animated movie The Prince of Egypt, and starred arsenic Marlon Brando's crazed sidekick in The Island of Dr Moreau - but that movie became 1 of Hollywood's astir notorious flops.

Its manager John Frankenheimer declared helium would ne'er enactment again with Kilmer, who had gained a estimation for being hard connected set.

He said that estimation was due to the fact that "I attraction precise overmuch astir telling the communicative well".

He played a cheery backstage detective who teamed up with Robert Downey Jr's petty thief successful 2005's Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.

In 2021, Kilmer released a documentary chronicling the highs and lows of his beingness and career. Val, which debuted astatine the Cannes Film Festival, features 40 years of location recordings, including him speaking with a dependable container post-cancer surgery.

He had continued acting, but his comeback with a cameo quality arsenic Iceman successful the long-awaited Top Gun sequel was peculiarly poignant.

Cruise said astatine the time: "I've known Val for decades, and for him to travel backmost and play that character... he's specified a almighty histrion that helium instantly became that quality again."

Kilmer was besides an artist, often creating paintings inspired by his movie roles.

Film professional Larushka Ivan-Zadeh told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his relation successful The Doors summed up his entreaty and persona.

"There was thing benignant of acheronian and troubling and sensual and benignant of self-destructive astir him," she said.

"It was a prime that meant helium was ne'er conscionable the bland Hollywood beauteous lad that led truthful galore roles. There was thing other going connected underneath the surface."

US amusement writer KJ Matthews echoed that, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "He's your atrocious boy, he's edgy, bully looking, decidedly Hollywood prima looks.

"And I similar the mode helium played roles. He ever played them successful an unconventional, unpredictable way.

"When Val Kilmer was attached to a project, you conscionable knew helium was going to bash thing absorbing with that character."