Introduction

Flatsigned.com has agreed to let me use their picture of Val Kilmer signing the first edition of the book for the cover of the new edition, that now includes a chapter about Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang from my biography of Robert Downey Junior. Flatsigned wanted me to let you know that they still have signed copies of the bio, and that if you mention this website, they will sell you one at half price!

Val Kilmer is on the set of a major motion picture, his lines have been memorized, he has a general picture of the character he want to present in the upcoming scene. He has a concern about the depth of his character; he is in search of new insights that surround this old, and often times flat, character.
The obvious person to ask is the director. Val seeks him out, you can picture director Joel Schumacher trying to juggle actors, and oversee crew members. He’s a busy man who’s overseeing a monstrous project. Schumacher has already had some disagreements with Val, but Val is the star, right? Can the movie work if the star doesn’t get it right?
Val approaches Schumacher and asks him what his motivation is for the next scene.
Schumacher says, “You’re just f*****g Batman, just go out there and do it.”
I’m not 100% sure if the story is true, but I have included it here because I think that even if it’s not true its like a metaphor for Val Kilmer’s career. You can see Joel Schumacher’s point, its just Batman, you aren’t going to get an Academy Award no matter how you play the role, but you can also see Val’s.
This leads me to ask the question, could there be a star in Hollywood who gives too much. At what point does the quest for perfection stop being an asset and become a liability? If such devotion to craft is possible then Val Edward Kilmer is guilty. The actor has consistently chosen hard roles over ones that would have given him more money and fame, yet his total gross box office is well over 1.5 billion dollars.
Jim Morrison is one of the main roles people think of when you say the name Val Kilmer. I think this is because with Jim Morrison we can see, the videos, and pictures, and can hear his music. This gives us a better vantage point with which to measure his character by, we don't know who Moses, Doc Holliday, or his other characters are in such a real and personal way.
Polo magazine reported, “Kilmer learned 50 Doors songs, 15 of which he actually performed on-screen. All the live musical numbers in the film were done by Kilmer except for five lines, including a scream. The background vocals were Morrison’s.” According to Paul Rothchild, who was a record producer for “The Doors,” Kilmer’s and Morrison’s voices were so remarkably alike the Doors’ guitarist, Robby Krieger, and drummer, John Densmore, guessed wrong 80 percent of the time when he switched between the two. (The Doors' keyboardist, Ray Manzarek, refused to cooperate with the making of the film. ‘It hurts to disappoint someone who knows the truth ...,’ Kilmer told Jeffrey Ressner of Rolling Stone [April 4, 1991]. ‘[But] the people I was directly involved with convinced me I was on the right track, and what else can you ask for as an actor?’)
Polo magazine continued, “Kilmer's physical resemblance to Morrison was no less striking, once he had styled his hair and inserted black contact lenses that gave his eyes a permanently dilated appearance. ‘It was like having [Morrison] back for a while,’ Krieger told Ressner. ‘Spooky.’”
Robert Ebert said, “It was more like a case of possession.”
Even Jim Morrison’s own band members guessed wrong 80% of the time. Val became more like Jim than Jim was. This isn’t an isolated incident, Val’s acting abilities are apparent throughout his whole film career. Robert Ebert also has said of Val Kilmer that he is one of the most under appreciated actors in America. His portrayal of Doc Holiday in “Tombstone” has been often called Oscar worthy. Some say his portrayal of “Ice Man” in “Top Gun” stole the show from Tom Cruise.
The Saint grossed 169 million, Prince of Egypt 218 million, Batman Forever 335 million, and Top Gun 344 million.
I think that in acting, like other arts, you cannot say that there are absolutes, like he is the best actor to ever live, but rather that there are plateaus at which many actors and actresses reside. Most people are at a certain level most of the time, but at the top level, there are only differences in style, or in certain characters one plays.
I think that without a doubt Val Kilmer is at the top plateau of acting, I don’t think that you can say that anyone in Hollywood is at a higher level; Val has earned a reputation for being anything a writer can dream.
Is Val a handsome? Here are some observations I have found on the Internet.
“Val must be the most attractive guy on both the Red Planet and the blue one, given how she carries on: this is True Romance, for sure.”
“Now, I wouldn't call my admiration for Val Kilmer an obsession. I haven't seen every movie he's done or anything like that. I just think he's very talented, not to say handsome, actor.”
“A distinctly handsome leading man”
“Everyone needs an escape from reality....a little dream world...and Val is mine. Yes I'm 27, but yes sometimes I feel like a silly 12 year old.”
So here we have Val Kilmer, a veteran movie actor who is as talented as anyone else out there, and he is handsome, but yet he has yet to obtain the highest level of stardom. Why?
Perhaps it’s because of the rumors about his being difficult to work with. Perhaps it’s because he has turned down many wonderful scripts that have turned out to be very memorable movies. But, on the other hand, he’s played Jim Morrison, Moses, God, Doc Holliday, Batman, and Elvis. Val has had a good career, and it seems as if it can only get better.
There are seven projects out in the works now as I am starting to write this, so perhaps the tide will turn and he will become a legend, a star who shines so bright that distant generations yet to come will appreciate his movies, a star whose time has come, but yet will be beyond the confines of our generation.

Home Page

Young Val Kilmer

Val Kilmer tries Acting

Val's Brother Wesley

Journey to Julliard

Julliard

Theater

Interesting facts