Actor Val Kilmer, star of 'Batman Forever', dies at 65, NYT reports

File photo (AFP)

Val Kilmer, the California-born actor who starred in films including "Top Gun," "The Doors," and "Batman Forever" and earned a reputation as a Hollywood bad boy, has died, the New York Times reported. He was 65.

The cause of death was pneumonia, the paper said, 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. Over the years, Kilmer gained a reputation as temperamental, intense, perfectionistic and sometimes egotistical.

"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."

He made his film debut starring in the spy spoof Top Secret! (1984) before appearing in the goofy comedy Real Genius (1985). He rocketed to stardom as Tom Cruise's co-star in the smash 1986 hit Top Gun (1986), 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 (1988) 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 (1991) 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.

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.

More from Entertainment

Coming Up on Dubai Eye

  • The Agenda

    10:00am - 1:00pm

    Broadcasting every weekday, Georgia Tolley goes beyond the headlines to speak to government ministers, decision makers, analysts and local experts to find out how the news will impact those of us living in the UAE.

  • Afternoons with Helen Farmer

    1:00pm - 4:00pm

    Every weekday afternoon, Helen Farmer will help you to navigate the highs and lows of life in the UAE. Stay up to date with what’s happening and where to go.

BUSINESS BREAKFAST LATEST

On Dubai Eye

  • Is There Sufficient House Supply In UAE

    Dubai’s current population is more than double compared to almost twenty years ago, which now stands at 3.7 million. Lots of families are also moving to the UAE now. So what does it mean for the property market?

  • Noon's First Female Delivery Driver

    Glory Ehirim Nkiruka is Noon’s first ever female delivery driver. In her first ever interview, she explained why she loves her job, despite the heat!