Val Kilmer is an American actor, musician, singer, director, producer, and artist, best known for his movie roles in Top Secret! (1984), Real Genius (1985), Top Gun (1986), Willow (1988), and Tombstone (1993). He also portrayed 2 well-known musicians, Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991), and in True Romance (1993), as well as Chris Shiherlis in Heat (1995), Batman in Batman Forever (1995), Simon Templar in The Saint (1997), and Moses in The Prince of Egypt (1998). Val also appeared in movies such as Pollock (2000), Red Planet (2000), The Salton Sea (2002), Wonderland (2003), Stateside (2004), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Conspiracy (2008), Hardwired (2009), Breathless (2012), Song to Song (2017), The Snowman (2017) and 1st Born (2018).
Despite being better known as the film actor, Val also appeared in TV series such as Comanche Moon (2008), XIII: The Conspiracy (2008), Knight Rider (2008-2009), Ghost Ghirls (2013), The Spoils of Babylon (2014), Psych (2014), and Robot Chicken (2014). Val wrote and directed the comedy movie Cinema Twain (2016) based on his own play named Citizen Twain, portraying the life of the author Mark Twain. He is also passionate about art and in 2017, plenty of his original work began appearing in galleries and exhibits throughout the United States. In 2019, he also rented his own exhibition space at the HelMel Studios in Los Angeles, California, United States. Val Kilmer has also amassed a large fanbase online, consisting of more than 1 million followers on Facebook, more than 300k followers on Instagram, and more than 300k followers on Twitter.
Residence
Malibu, California, United States
Nationality
Education
Val Kilmer attended Berkeley Hall School in Los Angeles, California, United States, until the 9th grade. He then enrolled in Chatsworth High School in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, United States, also attended by .
Val also attended Hollywood Professional School in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. He also officially became the youngest person to be accepted into the Drama Division of the Juilliard School in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Val was a member of the Group 10 there and was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Val Kilmer is represented by –
- Creative Artists Agency (CAA) (Talent Agent) in Los Angeles, California, United States
- Vox (Talent Agent Commercial, Voice) in Los Angeles, California, United States
- LINK Entertainment (Manager) in Los Angeles, California, United States
- Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof and Fishman (Legal Representative) in Los Angeles, California, United States
Genre
Alternative/Indie
Instruments
Vocals
Labels
Unknown
Girlfriend / Spouse
Val Kilmer has dated –
- Ellen Barkin – It became known that Val had a thing for older women in the early 1980s when he dated the actress, Ellen Barkin for a while.
- (1982-1984) – He met the well-known singer at her birthday party organized by . The two started as friends and even talked for a week before they kissed for the 1st time. In some interviews, Cher stated that Val was a great kisser, but their romance fizzled out in 1984.
- (1985) – Val and actress Michelle had a brief relationship in 1985. In 1983, after they met, Val self-published a poetry book entitled My Edens After Burns, which contained select poems that were inspired by the time they spent together.
- Lesley Ann Warren (1986) – He dated actress Lesley Ann Warren for a year in 1986.
- Joanne Whalley (1987-1996) – Val met the British actress in May 1987 at the set of the fantasy movie Willow (1988) and they fell in love. The two got married on February 28, 1988. The pair had 2 children as a result of their marriage – daughter Mercedes Kilmer (b. October 29, 1991) and son Jack Kilmer (b. June 6, 1995). His son decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an actor when he grew up. Both he and his son had roles in movies directed by Shane Black: Val in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) and Jack in The Nice Guys (2016). They also appeared together on-screen in Palo Alto (2013). In 1995, Val was in his hotel room watching CNN channel, when he found out his wife was divorcing him and felt angry and conflicted. On February 1, 1996, the couple got divorced officially, and Val later mentioned the interesting fact that he got both married and divorced in February of a leap year (1988, 1996).
- Emily Lloyd (1994) – It was rumored that he dated British actress Emily Lloyd for around a month in 1994. This was never confirmed, and because Val was married at the time, it would mean he had an affair.
- (1996) – Val had an encounter with the actress after they met at the set of the movie The Saint (1997), where they both had lead roles.
- (1996) – He was in a short-term relationship with the model, Cindy Crawford between March and May 1996 after his divorce from his 1st wife.
- (1997) – Val was rumored to be dating actress Mira Sorvino in 1997.
- (2001-2002) – Val was romantically linked to the actress in 2001, but they parted ways the very next year.
- (2002-2003) – There were rumors that Val and actress Neve Campbell hooked up during the filming the movie Blind Horizon (2003), in which they appeared together.
- Bridgetta Tomarchio (2003) – Another rumor regarding his dating life arose in 2003 when he was linked to the TV personality, Bridgetta Tomarchio.
- (2004) – Val Kilmer was rumored to be in a relationship with the well-known actress after they had an on-screen matchup in Alexander (2004).
- Zeta Graff (2005) – He briefly dated businesswoman Zeta Graff in 2005.
- (2005) – After appearing in Wonderland (2003) together and having chemistry, there were speculations that the two dated in March 2005.
- (2005) – In November and December 2005, Val and actress Winona Ryder were an item.
- Izabella Miko (2009-2012) – Val met the Polish actress after they appeared in the movie Double Identity (2009) together. In March of the same year, they began dating and were in a fruitful relationship up until 2012 when both decided to go their separate ways.
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Tall physique
- Long, slicked-back haircut
- Deep resonant voice
Brand Endorsements
Val Kilmer has appeared in commercials for –
- Nikon (2002)
- Northrop Grumman Corporation (2002)
- Orange’s Gold Spot cinema ads (2007)
- Ford’s Mustang (2008)
- Farin Chocolate (2008)
- Ford Motors (2011)
Val Kilmer supported or promoted charities and organizations such as –
- Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief (2005)
- Orchard Beach Classic Car, Truck, and Motorcycle Show (2007)
- White Face Defenders of the Black Hills (2007)
- First Star Celebration for Children’s Rights (2008)
- Equitable Access to Care and Health Act at the U.S. Congress (2013)
Religion
Christian Science
Best Known For
- His movie roles in The Doors (1991), True Romance (1993), Heat (1995), The Saint (1997), The Salton Sea (2002), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Kill the Irishman (2011), and 7 Below (2012)
- Notable roles in TV series Comanche Moon (2008), Knight Rider (2008-2009), Ghost Ghirls (2013), The Spoils of Babylon (2014), and Robot Chicken (2014)
As a Singer
Val Kilmer made his debut musical performance in the theatrical movie Top Secret! in 1984, where he sang songs SKEET SURFING, TUTTI FRUTI, HOW SILLY CAN YOU GET, ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT?, SPEND THIS NIGHT WITH ME, and STRAIGHTEN OUT THE RUG. He also released an album that he named identically to the character he played in the movie, Nick Rivers, which contained all of those songs.
In 1991, he sang songs Dead Cats, Dead Rats, Five to One, Touch Me, The Soft Parade, Not to Touch the Earth, The End, My Wild Love, The Crystal Ship, Break On Through, Light My Fire, and Moonlight Drive in the movie The Doors. Val also sang Heartbreak Hotel in the movie True Romance (1993), and God Bless The Child in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996).
Val also performed a plethora of songs during The Ten Commandments: The Musical (2006) – The Horns Of Jericho, Why Me?, Let Them Go, ThePlagues, Into The Deep, Brothers Still, Back In Egypt, A Prayer For Life, When We Rule The World, A Love That Never Was, Keys To The Kingdom, and Guilty.
In 2007, he recorded a 6-song album he simply named Val Kilmer: Sessions with Mick. The album was a collaboration with Mick Rossi, a well-known keyboardist, and composer, but Val ultimately couldn’t land a recording deal.
Val also sang a song titled Best Friends in the TV show Saturday Night Live in 2011, and in 2012, performed a song named The Fourth Dimension in the movie The Fourth Dimension.
First Film
Val Kilmer made his theatrical film debut as Nick Rivers in the comedy film Top Secret! in 1984.
First TV Show
Val Kilmer made his first TV show appearance as Eric in an episode titled One Too Many of the drama-comedy series ABC Afterschool Specials in 1985.
Val Kilmer Favorite Things
- Animals – Dog, Buffalo
- Season – Spring
- Food – Pizza
- Activities – Riding A Motorcycle, Traveling, Scuba Diving
- Actors – Warwick Davis, , , ,
- Singer –
Source – , , , , , , , ,
Val Kilmer Facts
- His parents divorced in 1968 when he was 9 years old.
- He grew up in the San Fernando Valley, California, United States.
- Val’s younger brother, Wesley, drowned in a family swimming pool in 1977, when he was only 15 years old. This tragic event inspired Val’s role in The Salton Sea (2002).
- Kevin Spacey is a childhood friend of his. Kevin enrolled in the same high school in his teenage years and then attended The Juilliard School with Val as well.
- He admitted he was only 4 ft 11 in when he enrolled in high school.
- Val fell in love with the actress Mare Winningham during the time they went to high school together, because she had a driving license and he didn’t.
- He is great friends with , a well-known actor. After working together in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), the film director was so angry with both of them that he promised they’d never work together again.
- Val nearly broke his foot during the filming of Willow (1988), and noticeably limped in some scenes.
- Val has a trademark movement – he rubs the 1st 2 fingers of his right hands together when thinking or talking, and twirls small objects such as pencils, coins, with his fingers as well.
- After he was done filming his debut movie, Top Secret! (1984), he went and backpacked around Europe.
- He initially didn’t want to appear as Iceman in Top Gun (1986) alongside but was forced due to contractual obligations.
- In 1986, he also auditioned for the role of Sergeant Elias Grodin in the movie Platoon. He portrayed the character as an Indian shaman, which was bizarre but memorable to the casting directors.
- Val had a chance to play the lead role in Dirty Dancing (1987) but declined because he didn’t want to be remembered as a hunk.
- Val was supposed to play the role of Vincent Mancini in The Godfather Part III (1990).
- He was the 2nd actor to play Batman in the franchise of movies, right after . Despite and later taking over the role, Val remained the only actor with blonde or light brown hair color that played Batman.
- Val was in the Kalahari desert when he got the call to play Batman in Batman Forever (1995).
- He took over the role of Chris Shiherlis in Heat (1995) after backed out.
- When he sang in the movie The Doors (1991) as Jim Morrison, real band members said they had difficulty distinguishing their voices.
- Val was initially supposed to play Alexander the Great in Alexander (2004) but ended up playing King Philip, while took the lead role.
- For 3 decades, he appeared in 1 film per decade made by one of his favorite directors, Tony Scott. Those were Top Gun (1986), True Romance (1993), and Deja Vu (2006).
- After being referenced and talked about multiple times during the 1st season of TV series Psych (2006-2014) as Detective Dobson, Val made a surprise appearance in the series finale.
- In an interview in 2006, Val said he had a massive crush on the Australian actress that he forgot his dialogue in the scene, forgot that he was acting, and just stood there staring at her.
- When asked whether he’d pick or , he chose Oprah.
- Val became good friends with during the filming of Street of Blood (2009). They connected over their love for vintage cars, and Val later bought a 1965 Chevy Impala from 50 Cent for $100,000.
- In 2015, he was hospitalized and tested for the presence of a tumor. Val reported doctors didn’t find anything of that nature.
- In April 2017, Val announced he was recovering from a 2-year battle with throat cancer, and as a result of the procedure, his voice was reduced to a rasp and he became very short of breath.
- He and became good friends after they worked together in Song to Song (2017) and The Showman (2017).
- On June 7, 2018, it was confirmed that Val would reprise his role of Iceman in the sequel of Top Gun (1986), with a working title of Top Gun: Maverick.
- In early 2019, an artist named Bale Creek Allen sued Val for allegedly copying one of his signature bronze tumbleweed sculptures. The art in question was made of 22-carat gold and was sold for $150,000.
- Visit his official website @ valkilmer.com.
- Follow him on , , , and .
Featured Image by Georges Biard / / CC BY-SA 3.0
Facts of Val Edward Kilmer
- Gender Male
- full nameVal Edward Kilmer
- middle nameEdward
- nicknamesValentine
- birthplaceLos Angeles, California, United States
- Date of Birth December 31, 1959
- Age 64 years 8 months
- Horoscope Capricorn
- Lucky Number 4
- Lucky Stone Topaz
- Lucky Color Brown
- Best Match for Marriage Scorpio, Virgo, Taurus
- ethnicity / ethnic backgroundSwedish , German, English, Welsh, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, and French Huguenot
- nationalityAmerican
- religionChristian Science
- net worth$25 million
- professionActor, Singer, Musician, Director, Producer, Artist
- weight80 kg or 176.5 lbs
- height6 ft or 183 cm
- hair colorBlonde
- eye colorBlue
- body type / buildAverage
- motherGladys née Ekstadt Swanette
- fatherEugene Dorris Kilmer
- brothersWesley Kilmer, Mark Kilmer