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Val Kilmer
OVER the course of his career, Val Kilmer has become known as much for his unpredictable temperament as for his brilliant performances; at times he seems hell-bent on fashioning a Brando-esque reputation as a masterful actor with a masterless disposition. On the one hand, his preparation for film roles often goes beyond simple professionalism (he sported regulation white shirts and ties every day for six months prior to playing a straight-arrow F.B.I. agent in Thunderheart); on the other, his clashes with directors and producers often go beyond sanity (he engaged in a physical shoving match with director Joel Schumacher on the set of Batman Forever).
Raised in the shadow of the Roy Rogers ranch in Chatsworth, California, Kilmer excelled at acting, singing, and writing during his years at Chatsworth High (he also dated classmate and future actress Mare Winningham for three years). At the age of 17, he became the youngest student to be accepted into Juilliard’s acting program. During his years there, he played the lead role in an off-Broadway production of How It All Began, a play he co-scripted with some classmates. One year later, he made his Broadway debut in Slab Boys, alongside Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn, who were then little more than struggling newcomers themselves.
The leap from the stage to the silver screen came in 1984, when Kilmer both acted and sang in the spy-movie parody Top Secret. This otherwise unremarkable career turn led to a brief stint in a London production of The Genius, during which a pretty British actress caught his eye. Nothing came of it. Years passed. Then Kilmer won a role in the Ron Howard-George Lucas fantasy Willow; he played a sword-swinging, tough-as-nails rogue who uses bad poetry to seduce a sword-swinging, tough-as-nails princess played by Joanne Whalley. From their first meeting on the set, Kilmer became utterly smitten with his co-star, and he cranked up the charm for a seven-month marathon courtship. Whalley eventually succumbed, and the two were married in 1989. According to Kilmer, he realized only after their wedding that Whalley was the very same actress he had spotted all those years before in London.
Although Kilmer’s early roles earned him a reputation as a competent performer, the world at large might never have paid him any notice were it not for his portrayal of Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s The Doors. He pursued the role with his characteristic zeal; he actively lobbied director Stone for an audition and then spent six months preparing for it by losing weight, growing out his hair, memorizing the words to every song Morrison ever recorded, and living every waking hour in boots and leather pants. After landing the part, Kilmer cut a demo tape to convince the director that he should not only act the part, but sing the songs as well. By the time filming began, Kilmer had immersed himself so thoroughly in Morrisonisms that original members of the Doors claimed they couldn’t tell Kilmer from the original article, and the final cut of the movie contained a seamless blending of Kilmer’s vocals and Morrison’s original recordings. The Doors was a financial disappointment, but Kilmer won notice as one of the most talented actors of his generation.
Kilmer’s next four films provided solid evidence of his dramatic range — he played a part-Sioux F.B.I. agent, the ghost of Elvis, a bank robber, and Old West gunfighter Doc Holliday (a performance, in Tombstone, that many critics felt should have been Oscar-nominated) — but his name above the title netted a modest draw at best. Understandably, Kilmer jumped at the chance to inherit the bat suit from a disgruntled Michael Keaton — an offer made to him, legend has it, while he was touring bat caves in Botswana, Africa. With the power of the Batman film franchise propelling him, Kilmer finally landed at the top of the box office in a leading role, and he held his own admirably against scenery-chewing co-stars Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones.
Overnight celebrity brought both perks and pitfalls. Kilmer landed a plum supporting role in Heat, wherein he got to strut his stuff opposite Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, and New Line snapped him up to revive its flagging attempt to remake The Island of Dr. Moreau. At the same time, his fiery artistic temperament and numerous creative disputes became the focus of every interview he granted. Tabloid scoop-mongers invaded his quiet home life on the outskirts of Santa Fe, hounding him about his separation from Whalley in July 1995, shortly after the birth of their second child. A tryst with supermodel Cindy Crawford (following a failed attempt at reconciliation with Whalley) did little to help his image or his unravelling marriage, and Kilmer and Whalley slogged through a messy divorce eight months after their initial separation.
By his own account, Kilmer declined to suit up for Batman and Robin due to other commitments, but director Joel Schumacher claims the star was dumped. Kilmer was undaunted: he instead launched what he hopes will be a lucrative film franchise as upstanding private eye Simon Templar with the release of The Saint. 1998 delivered assignments in DreamWorks’ animated film The Prince of Egypt (in which he provided the voice of Moses) and the romantic drama At First Sight, the story of a man blind since birth who undergoes an experimental operation that restores his sight. Actor-director Frank Whaley’s gritty drama Joe the King, released the following year, afforded the actor the opportunity to tackle the complex characterization of an abusive, alcoholic father, and was a shattering rebuttal to the mawkish Sight.
Kilmer has written a screenplay based on the noir-ish novel The Killer Inside Me, which he hopes to direct and produce; and his performance as Dr. Dark in the indie film Dead Girl, a project that has been moldering on the shelf since 1994, may yet see the light of day now that Kilmer and co-star Teri Hatcher are big names.
Occupation: Actor
Date of Birth: December 31, 1959
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, Calif., USA
Sign: Sun in Capricorn, Moon in Aquarius
Relations: Ex-wife: Joanne Whalley-Kilmer; kids: Mercedes, Jack
Education: Juilliard
Fan Mail: C/O Creative Artists Agency
9830 Wilshire Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
USA
Val Kilmer: Credits
MOVIES
Actor
Joe the King — 1999
At First Sight — 1999
The Prince of Egypt — 1998
The Saint — 1997
The Ghost and the Darkness — 1996
The Island of Dr. Moreau — 1996
Wings of Courage — 1995
Batman Forever — 1995
Heat — 1995
The Real McCoy — 1993
Tombstone — 1993
Thunderheart — 1992
The Doors — 1991
Kill Me Again — 1989
Gore Vidal’s Billy the Kid — 1989
Willow — 1988
The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains — 1987
Top Gun — 1986
Real Genius — 1985
Top Secret — 1984
Other Movie Credits
True Romance — 1993 (Singer)
Top Secret — 1984 (Singer)
TV
Gore Vidal’s Billy the Kid — 1989 (Movie)
The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains — 1988 (Movie)
Murders in the Rue Morgue — 1986 (Movie)
One Too Many — 1985 (Special)
Kilmer, Val Web sites
At First Sight video
MGM’s official site includes cast and crew information, a brief story synopsis, trailer and still pictures. Stars Val Kilmer & Mira Sorvino.
http://www.mgm.com/atfirstsight/index.good.html
Last reviewed by DottieHinkle
Kilmer Zone
Fan site exploring the many movies of Val Kilmer.
http://www.kzone.anickoftime.ca/
Last reviewed by Lady_Tasha
Planet Kilmer chat
Biography, photos, mail and icq lists, messageboard, news and links.
http://www.planetkilmer.com/
Last reviewed by pwnorm
Val Kilmer audio video
Fan site with sound files, pictures, biography, video clips, articles, quotes, and more.
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4532/
Last reviewed by cbreikss
Val Kilmer Newsletter
News, articles and photos. Updated regularily.
http://www.vkn.com/
Last reviewed by Lady_Tasha
Val Kilmer Page
Val Kilmer biography, filmography and photo gallery. Also pages on Walken, Malkovich, Turturro, DiCaprio, Affleck, Pitt, Damon and more. Reader participation is encourgaged.
http://members.tripod.com/~coolvic/VKpage.htm
Last reviewed by pvsailor1
New Line Cinema: Island of Dr. Moreau
Official site. Full of features devoted to the movie, requiring RealAudio, ShockWave, and QuickTime plug-in’s.
http://www.cannery.com/Drmoreau/
Last reviewed by Lady_Tasha
Val Kilmer
Brief bio of Val.
http://www.kcweb.com/superm/v_kilmer.htm
Last reviewed by Lady_Tasha
Photo Gallery-
Topics: Actor, Celebrities
Tags: Joe the King, The Doors, The Saint, Top Gun
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