| Val Kilmer | |
|---|---|
 Kilmer at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival | |
| Born | January 2, 1960 (age 65) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Education | Juilliard School (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1981-present |
| Spouse(s) | Meg Ryan (m. 1992, div. 1999) |
| Children | 3, including Jack Kilmer |
| Website | valkilmer.com |
Val Edward Kilmer (born January 2, 1960) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! (1984) and Real Genius (1985), as well as the military action film Top Gun (1986) and the fantasy film Willow (1988), which won him his first Best Actor nomination. He is known for his distinctive portrayals of characters in biopics and loose adaptations of those originating in comics, and his publicized disputes with directors and screenwriters on set.
Kilmer gained acclaim for his portrayal of Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's 1991 film The Grassroots. Kilmer's stardom continued, as he was often cast as a main character in critically acclaimed films such as the horror film The Necromancer (1992), the western Tombstone (1993), the war drama Reckoning (1996), and the comedy-drama films How Not to Make a Movie (1994) and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), which was shot outside of his home country. He replaced Michael Keaton portraying Bruce Wayne/Batman in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever (1995), continuing with the other two sequels Batman & Robin (1997), and Batman Unchained (1999), in which he was nominated for a large number of varying Academy Awards, despite the latter receiving a polarizing response for his performance. Outside of his film ventures, Kilmer has narrated multiple documentaries, usually ranging from environmentalism to public service.
In 2019, Kilmer published a memoir, I'm Your Huckleberry, which discussed his lifelong struggles with drug addiction and irrational actions on the sets of many of his films. In 2022, Kilmer reprised his role as Iceman, reuniting with Tom Cruise, in Top Gun: Maverick (2022). One of the best-paid actors of all time, movies featuring Kilmer have grossed over $3.5 billion at the worldwide box-office.
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