{"id":1948,"date":"2025-04-02T08:42:18","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T08:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/?p=1948"},"modified":"2025-04-07T14:39:02","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T14:39:02","slug":"val-kilmers-7-best-film-roles-from-tombstone-to-heat-after-his-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/02\/val-kilmers-7-best-film-roles-from-tombstone-to-heat-after-his-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Val Kilmer\u2019s 7 best film roles from Tombstone to Heat after his death"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Val\t<\/div>
Val Kilmer had roles in countless films, including Batman, Heat and Top Gun (Picture: Rex)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Val Kilmer <\/a>was one of Hollywood’s most bankable and versatile actors before his death from pneumonia aged 65.<\/a><\/p>\n

Known to mass audiences for his roles in blockbusters Top Gun<\/a> and Batman<\/a>, Kilmer had a diverse acting career, including roles in films ranging from the Western, Tombstone, to crime drama, Heat.<\/p>\n

But the legendary actor <\/a>did not just restrict himself to mainstream movies and also dabbled in arthouse productions, with cult film fans praising his standout performances in Willow and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.<\/p>\n

In his final years, due to ill health after recovering from throat cancer, Kilmer took a step back from the limelight, but his last role was in 2022 was a cameo in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.<\/a><\/p>\n

Here are Kilmer’s 7 best film performances.<\/p>\n

Top Gun<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Editorial\t<\/div>
Top Gun made Kilmer a Hollywood star (Picture: Paramount\/Kobal\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After declining roles in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders and David Lynch film Blue Velvet, Kilmer had his breakout role in Top Gun<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the 1986 action film, he played naval aviator Iceman alongside Tom Cruise<\/a> as Lieutenant Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell.<\/p>\n

Kilmer’s last acting role before his death was a cameo in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.<\/p>\n

Batman Forever<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Editorial\t<\/div>
Kilmer quit the Batman franchise after just one film (Picture: Ralph Nelson\/Warner Bros\/Kobal\/S)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1995, Kilmer starred as Batman in the film Batman Forever after taking over the role from Michael Keaton.<\/p>\n

However, he decided against returning for a second Batman film, paving the way for George Clooney’s interpretation of the superhero.<\/p>\n

In 2020, Kilmer explained his departure, saying that he became disinterested in Batman<\/a> after investor Warren Buffett’s grandchildren visited the set and paid more attention to playing with the props than him.<\/p>\n

Willow<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Editorial\t<\/div>
Kilmer played disaffected soldier Madmartigan in Willow (Picture: Moviestore\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For cult film fans, Kilmer is best known as mercenary swordsman Madmartigan in the 1988 film Willow.<\/p>\n

In the high fantasy adventure movie from Ron Howard, his character teams up with Willow (Warwick Davis), an aspiring magician who is protecting a young baby princess from an evil queen.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Kilmer was forced to pull out of the Disney Plus reboot of Willow ‘pretty late in the process’ <\/a>as filming amid the pandemic posed a risk to his health.<\/p>\n

Tombstone<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Editorial\t<\/div>
Doc Holliday is considered one of Kilmer’s most iconic roles (Picture: Everett\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1993, Kilmer appeared as the hard-drinking, sickly Doc Holliday alongside the likes of Kurt Russell in the Western, Tombstone.<\/p>\n

His character became known for the catchphrase ‘I’m your huckleberry’, and the quote became the title of Kilmer’s 2020 memoir.<\/p>\n

In his book, Kilmer reflected on playing Doc Holliday and wrote: ‘His tongue is more lethal than his pistol. Throughout the drama, he’s dying of both drink and tuberculosis. <\/p>\n

‘In playing him, I thought of what my dear friend the great screenplay writer Robert Towne had taught me: all insightful dialogue comes out of situations, not predeveloped thought. In that regard, I saw Doc’s situation as dire. I also saw his action as defiance in the face of death. I loved him.’<\/p>\n

The Doors<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"No\t<\/div>
Kilmer immersed himself fully in the role of Jim Morrison in The Doors (Picture: StudioCanal\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kilmer went method for his role as The Doors frontman James Morrison in the 1991 Oliver Stone music biopic.<\/p>\n

In the year before production, the actor began dressing like the influential musician and would hang out at his regular haunts on LA’s Sunset Strip.<\/p>\n

It was reported that Kilmer needed therapy after The Doors to rid himself of Morrison.<\/p>\n

Heat<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Editorial\t<\/div>
Kilme relished the opportunity of acting alongside Pacino and De Niro (Picture: Moviestore\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kilmer joined acting greats Al Pacino and Robert De Niro playing Chris Shiherlis in Heat, one of the most influential crime drama films of all time.<\/p>\n

In a Reddit thread, the actor recalled his experience working with the pair, saying: ‘Well imagine being able to say, “Al and Bob” for the rest of your life. Not many people can do that<\/p>\n

‘I have seen Bob, giggling like a school girl in a van in the middle of the night, because we have to be quiet cause they are filming outside. I have been hugged by Al Pacino in the middle of downtown LA like he was my older brother.’<\/p>\n

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"For\t<\/div>
Kilmer had a starring role in the arthouse classic Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Picture: APC\/THA\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the 2005 neo-noir black comedy crime film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Vilmer played private investigator Gay Perry van Shrike.<\/p>\n

The character teams up with Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr), a petty thief posing as an actor, who ends up in the middle of a murder investigation after an audition for a film.<\/p>\n

In a 2020 interview with Joe Rogan, Downey Jr described Kiss Kiss Bang Bang as ‘in some ways the best film I’ve ever done.’<\/p>\n

Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page – we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Val Kilmer had roles in countless films, including Batman, Heat and Top Gun (Picture: Rex) Val Kilmer was one of Hollywood’s most bankable and versatile actors before his death from pneumonia aged 65. Known to mass audiences for his roles in blockbusters Top Gun and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1948"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1948"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1958,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1948\/revisions\/1958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}