Batman Forever: American actor Val Kilmer has died at the age of 66.

On Wednesday, April 2, it became known that the famous American actor Val Kilmer, who played the main role in the movie "Batman Forever", died the night before. This was reported by his daughter Mercedes. The cause of death, she said, was pneumonia. The biography of Val Kilmer, his filmography, his state of health, as well as the reasons for the ups and downs of his career are in the Izvestia material.

Val Kilmer: biography and filmography

American actor Val Kilmer was born on December 31, 1959 in Los Angeles. He graduated from one of the largest American institutions of higher education in the field of art and music, the Juilliard School of Dramatic Arts. There he became one of the youngest students ever accepted into the acting program: Val Kilmer was only 17 years old when he began his studies.

In 1981, he began his professional career working in the theater. Val Kilmer first appeared in films in 1984, his first film was the comedy "Top Secret!", and in 1986 he played in the action movie "The Best Shooter", immediately playing one of the main roles there. The film was a great success, and the studios began inundating the actor with offers.

His career peaked in the 1990s. In 1991, Oliver Stone's film The Doors Group was released, where he played the role of Jim Morrison, singer of the American band The Doors. Despite the fact that the film failed at the box office, it became a cult film primarily due to Kilmer's acting. It is worth noting that Kilmer himself performed the songs featured in the film. In 1995, a film was released for which Val Kilmer received his first major fee in the amount of $ 7 million— Batman Forever.

In 1996, while working on the film "The Saint," Val Kilmer visited Moscow, where many scenes of the film were shot. Filming took place on Red Square, in the Beijing and Ukraine hotels, the Kotelnicheskaya Embankment high-rise, and other iconic locations in the Russian capital.

This was followed by a number of failed films, among which was the fantastic picture "Red Planet". Its budget was over $100 million, but the film grossed only $33 million. After that, the actor's career began to decline. Studios stopped offering him major roles in big-budget productions, and he began playing mostly minor roles in low-budget films.

Val Kilmer not only acted, but also produced his own films, dubbed animated films. There are about 100 films in Val Kilmer's filmography.

Among the most popular films of the Hollywood actor are:

• "Top Secret!" (1984);
• "True Love" (1993);
• "Tombstone: Legend of the Wild West" (1993);
• "The Fight" (1995).

During the filming of Willow (1988), Val Kilmer met actress Joanne Whalley, and the couple married soon after. They have a daughter, Mercedes, and a son, Jack, who in 2021 produced the documentary "Val" about their father. Unfortunately, the marriage was short-lived, and the couple divorced in 1996.

Why did the directors not want to work with Val Kilmer

Val Kilmer's acting talent was called excellent, but his character was terrible. He was two days late for the set of the film "The Island of Dr. Moreau" and did not learn a single phrase. The director of the film, John Frankenheimer, often quarreled with Kilmer and once said the famous phrase: "I will never do two things in my life: I will never climb Mount Everest and I will never work with Val Kilmer."

Everyone found out about his character, which ruined the actor's career. During filming, he could snap at other members of the film crew. Kilmer himself did not try to improve in any way. In addition to his disgusting character, he has long been characterized by an addiction to alcohol and drugs.

Val Kilmer's health status

In 2014, Val Kilmer was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. The actor himself found out about it because of difficulty swallowing and blood in his throat. Then he had a tracheostomy and chemotherapy, after which it became difficult for him to talk. He spoke very little until the last few days. In the actor's latest film, the action movie "Top Gun: Maverick," his voice was even recreated using artificial intelligence.