Val Kilmer, the Hollywood star of movies including Top Gun, Batman Forever and Tombstone, has died at the age of 65, his daughter has said.
The cause of death was pneumonia, the New York Times reported, citing his daughter Mercedes Kilmer.
Kilmer was one of Hollywood’s most prominent leading men in the 1990s before numerous spats with directors and co-stars and a series of flops dented his career.
He had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, discussing his diagnosis and recovery in his 2020 memoir, I'm Your Huckleberry.
In a post on Instagram, actor Josh Gad paid tribute to the action star.
He said: "RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood. You truly were an icon."
Actor Josh Brolin, son of James Brolin, said he was going to miss his “pal”.
“You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker,” he said in an Instagram post.
“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.”
The official social media account for the Top Gun movies has paid tribute to the star.
Posting an image of Kilmer from the original 1986 film, the tribute read: “Remembering Val Kilmer, whose indelible cinematic mark spanned genres and generations. RIP Iceman.”
Director Michael Mann, who collaborated with Kilmer on the 1995 crime thriller Heat, described his passing as “tremendously sad” and praised the late actor.
“While working with Val on Heat I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character.
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“After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”
Francis Ford Coppola, who directed Kilmer on the 2011 horror film Twixt, also paid tribute to the late actor on Instagram.
Alongside the pic, The Godfather director wrote: “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.”
Over on X, formerly Twitter, Jennifer Tilly offered her own memory of Kilmer. “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.”
Remembering Val Kilmer, whose indelible cinematic mark spanned genres and generations. RIP Iceman. pic.twitter.com/a3jQ8ENma9
— Top Gun (@TopGunMovie) April 2, 2025
Tilly added: “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.”
Kilmer made his film debut starring in the spy spoof Top Secret! in 1984 before appearing in the goofy comedy Real Genius the following year.
He rocketed to stardom as Tom Cruise’s co-star in the smash 1986 hit Top Gun, playing naval aviator Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, and decades later appeared alongside Cruise again in the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Kilmer starred in director Ron Howard’s fantasy Willow and married his British co-star Joanne Whalley, with whom he had two children before divorcing.
One of his most challenging roles came in director Oliver Stone’s The Doors in which he played Jim Morrison, the charismatic and ultimately doomed lead singer of the influential rock band The Doors.
To try to persuade Stone to cast him, Kilmer put together an eight-minute video of himself singing and looking like Morrison at various points in his life. Kilmer’s own singing voice is used in the film.
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.…
— Jennifer Tilly (@JenniferTilly) April 2, 2025
The Doors ushered in the highest-profile years of his career. In the 1993 Western Tombstone, he played Old West gunfighter Doc Holliday. He had two commercial successes in 1995, co-starring with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in the crime drama Heat and succeeding Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader in Batman Forever, the third installment in the Batman series.
Over the years, Kilmer gained a reputation as temperamental and a perfectionistic.
“When certain people criticise me for being demanding, I think that’s a cover for something they didn’t do well. I think they’re trying to protect themselves,” Kilmer told the Orange County Register newspaper in 2003.
“I believe I’m challenging, not demanding, and I make no apologies for that.”
In light of his passing, Kilmer’s final post on Instagram - which was a picture of one of his paintings - has been flooded with emotional tributes from fans.
The post, which he shared just last week, captioned it: “It’s got that late-night glow. Cool tones with a low burn, like when the camp fire cools down but you’re still wide awake.”
His social media followers have since used the post’s comment section as an opportunity remember the late star.
One person wrote: “Rest in peace, Val. Thank you for your art, your heart, your spirit, your boldness, your depth, your humanity.”
“Rest in Peace, you amazing artist and human!” another shared.
A third commented: “RIP thank you for making my childhood so much fun with Real Genius, Thunderheart, The Ghost and the Darkness, and of course Top Gun and Batman.”
