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.
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00:00From Top Gun to Batman Forever to The Doors, the late Val Kilmer was easily one of the
00:16most versatile actors of his generation, captivating audiences and critics alike since his rise
00:21in the 1980s.
00:23So right now, we're breaking down 8 roles we love from Val Kilmer.
00:37Kilmer'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
00:46music festival, but 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
00:55name Nick Rivers.
01:05Just two years later in 1986, Kilmer rose to prominence with his role as Iceman in Top
01:10Gun.
01:11The film starring Tom Cruise became a pop culture phenomenon, showcasing Kilmer's charisma
01:16as 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, which went
01:25on 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
01:45in 1971 at age 27.
01:48The actor took months to prepare for the role, and he recorded his baritone voice against
01:53the backing of original Doors master tapes for the film.
02:03One of Kilmer's most celebrated performances came in 1993, when he portrayed Doc Holliday
02:08in Tombstone.
02:09The film follows a band of brothers restoring order to a lawless land, and is loosely based
02:14on 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
02:24who's quick on the draw.
02:33In 1995, Kilmer took up the mantle vacated by Michael Keaton to star as the moody-caped
02:39crusader in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever.
02:42He became the second actor to portray Batman on the big screen, after Keaton, and a long
02:46line of Batmans thereafter.
02:48Director Schumacher even once said,
02:50For me, Val Kilmer was the best Batman.
03:01Also in 1995, Kilmer starred alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Michael Mann's
03:06Heat, the critically acclaimed crime saga where a master criminal and LAPD detective
03:11face off.
03:12Kilmer played a key supporting role as De Niro's right-hand man.
03:27In 1997, he was back in an action role in The Saint, playing a suave international thief
03:33who comes back for one last job, but gets caught in a web of espionage and romance.
03:46And in 2005, Kilmer starred opposite Robert Downey Jr. in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, a dark
03:51comedy about a petty thief who gets caught up in a Hollywood murder mystery while posing
03:56as an actor.
03:57Kilmer played a sarcastic private detective in the crime comedy-turned-cult classic.
04:03And still, Kilmer had many more roles that audiences remember.
04:07For 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
04:17News.