Actor Val Kilmer has died. What was your favorite movie of his?

Question

Val Kilmer, most noted for his roles as Iceman in Top Gun, Doc Holliday in Tombstone, and Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Forever, died on April 1, 2025 at the age of 65.

Though Joel Schumacher did horrible, unspeakable things to Batman, Batman Forever actually wasn't that bad (Batman & Robin was by far the more sinful of the two). Regrettably, I've not seen Tombstone all the way through.

Actor Val Kilmer has died. What was your favorite movie of his?

Rest in peace, wingman!

abc3643 · Accepted Answer

While he was a fine actor, I was not really a fan of his or his movies. He was just too good looking. But, that was my own prejudice going back to the 1980s. However, looking back, when I think of him in both Top Gun movies, I really appreciate how he created Iceman. Iceman was, in a sense, the antagonist of the first Top Gun movie but he really wasn't. When he makes a cameo appearance in Top Gun: Maverick, it's arguably the most important scene in the film and I was happy to see it and to see him again (this was after he had throat cancer).

The New York Times did a very nice appreciation of him today.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/movies/val-kilmer-career.html

An Appraisal
Val Kilmer Brought a Wonderfully Weird Sensibility to Every Role
Even his choice of parts could be eccentric. In the end, he’s best thought of as a character actor trapped in a leading man’s body.

By Esther Zuckerman
April 2, 2025, 4:04 p. m. ET

Val Kilmer doesn’t even need to appear onscreen as Iceman in “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022) for the audience to feel his presence.

Early on, Tom Cruise’s “Maverick” Mitchell is texting with his old rival, Iceman, but even though he’s just represented by words on a screen, you know exactly who that is, the joy of Kilmer’s boisterously cocky performance in the original 1986 film echoing through your memory.

It makes the moment Kilmer actually shows up, late in the film, all the more powerful. Maverick has come to him for counsel. Kilmer still projects a regal energy, only now his character has earned his haughtiness, which presents as wisdom. Time has softened him a little, but Kilmer does not play Iceman as humbled. Instead, he’s more confident than ever, a sage of sorts even if the years have taken away his voice, as they did with Kilmer himself, who suffered from throat cancer.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/fV0ApOOSGBc

It seemed like everyone involved knew that the scene in “Maverick” would serve as a swan song for Kilmer, who died Tuesday at the age of 65 from pneumonia. But as brief as the sequence is, it is a reminder of just what kind of actor Kilmer was, one who thrived on unexpected choices and was constantly eager to surprise, no matter what the context.

In his youth, Kilmer looked like the ideal movie star, with smoldering good looks that were punctuated by naturally pouting, kissable lips. That classically beautiful appearance could have led him down a different path, and, sure, Hollywood occasionally tried to make a traditional leading man out of him. Most notably he was constrained as the vigilante in the cowl in Joel Schumacher’s “Batman Forever” (1995). But he thrived more as a character actor, bringing a bit of weirdo spice to the screen.

His friend Robert Downey Jr. called him “chronically eccentric.” That eccentricity is in part what contributed to reports throughout his career that he was difficult on set. It’s also what made him compulsively fascinating to watch. He chose and performed roles eccentrically. It wasn’t that he was over the top, it was that he was perpetually unique.

He could have been pigeonholed a number of times. He made his debut as a rock star in the spoof “Top Secret!” (1984), leaning into a silliness that belied his training at Juilliard. Iceman, just two years later, also could have been an archetype that Kilmer returned to throughout his career. But while Kilmer’s characters often exuded an arrogance that could be self-defeating, he was never interested in repeating himself. He arguably didn’t get enough credit for how much he transformed from part to part.

As Doc Holliday, that legendary figure of the American West, in “Tombstone” (1993), Kilmer affected a syrupy way of speaking that was seductive but also vaguely threatening. Holliday is suffering from tuberculosis and often drunk, but instead of wobbling with intoxication and disease, Kilmer is oddly still. It makes him entrancing and also somehow unnerving.

His dedication could make him seem overly intense. In the 2021 documentary about his life, “Val,” he explains that for “Tombstone,” he had the art department fill his bed with ice for his final scene with Kurt Russell’s Wyatt Earp: He wanted to feel his character’s pain as the two part for the final time. The result is innately soulful.

...

Sometimes the story of Kilmer’s career is told in terms of what he didn’t do. He didn’t appear in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders,” opting to star on Broadway instead. He declined to make David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet.” He only did one Batman movie.

But for all the paths he didn’t take, Kilmer emerged with a body of work that was almost defiantly his own. He was a shape-shifter who committed to heart, tragedy and absurdity in equal measure.

You can feel the weight of his legacy in the “Maverick” moment. Before letting Maverick go, he says, “One last thing — who’s the better pilot, you or me?” Maverick responds: “This is a nice moment. Let’s not ruin it.” That Kilmer smile flashes as he chuckles, reminding you of his thoroughly unconventional presence.

BCA6010 · Accepted Answer

Probably "The Saint." After that, Tombstone.

TrueConfection · Accepted Answer

He was so sexy as Iceman. My favorite movie of his was The Saint. He was able to play a character playing multiple characters. That takes talent 💕

MemeSupreme · Accepted Answer

i guess that tuberculosis caught up with him so who will be his huckleberry

Anonymous · Answer

Top Secret was his best movie.  Also - Willow, great fantasy movie.  Batman Forever wasn't so great, probably one of the worst Batman movies ever, but still better than The Dark Knight.

MrOracle · Answer

Tombstone was his best role - he was absolutely masterful as Doc Holiday. A close second was him as Jim Morrison in The Doors.

Willow is under-rated - he was great as Mad Martigan.

Top Secret and Real Genius are under-appreciated early roles for him.

Dargil · Answer

I'd like his performance in tombstone. I think that's one of the greatest performances By an actor in my lifetime. Along with this one.

Jersey2 · Answer

His portrayal of the character Iceman was perfect, in both Top Gun  Perfection

Cormac995 · Answer

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! (Wipes away manly tear.) "I'll be your huckle bearer."

AviatorTom · Answer

I never paid much attention to him and his movie roles. His role as Batman and as Iceman in Top Gun are all I remember, and neither is particularly memorable. May he rest in peace.

BadApple69 · Answer

As doc Holiday was a great role. But I like his silly comedy “Top Secret”. Classic!

docster · Answer

My favorite is "Top Secret" from 1984. One of the funniest movies I've seen.

andreasderjuengere · Answer

I strongly disliked him in 'Top Gun'' (because his acting was convincing :) ) I loved him as Doc Holiday.

Finchie40 · Answer

He was a good actor , he played A great Jim Morrison in The Doors movie amongst others as well.

Lilly1979 · Answer

I enjoyed when he played as Jim Morrison in The Doors.

FunkyMonkee · Answer

Top Gun. Second would be, "The Doors". I don't think I've ever seen any others.

Med_guy1978 · Answer

Top Gun and the Saint... Sad, he'll be missed. Memory eternal ☦️

Physics-Man · Answer

I've heard of him and watched some of the movies he was in, but don't remember enough of them to say which was my favorite, unfortunately.

IHateBeingaMan · Answer

Batman Forever, i will admit, i liked him as Batman better than George Clooney, but i also liked him in The Saint and Top Gun

Anonymous · Answer

I have never heard of him before but may he rest in peace and my condolences to his family

zagor · Answer

As far as his role, probably Tombstone. Appropriately now, I guess.

QuestionObsession · Answer

Great guy, terrible loss. Batman Forever!

FreyaRed · Answer

Heat, even if he didn't play the main role.

ArrowheadSW · Answer

Probably "Tombstone"...

DeeDeeDeVour · Answer

Rest In Peace Iceman!

DryGermanGuy · Answer

I really liked The Saint.

exitseven · Answer

I actually thought he was an okay Batman

Grond21 · Answer

God bless him

Alex-Snow · Answer

Top gun and Batman

DrPepper12 · Answer

As Jim Morrison doors or light my fire

Likes2drive · Answer

Probably Real Genius and The Saint

seeyounexttuesday · Answer

The doors movie.

__Nikki__ · Answer

Top Gun!

Bklynbadboy12 · Answer

Damn my man Val is gone. I'm a big fan of his

Gwendoline · Answer

Willow.

Sono83 · Answer

Top Secret (1984) a spy spoof.

Kreneman · Answer

Real Genius

ChiTown33 · Answer

Real Genius.

Massageman · Answer

Top Gun.

Anonymous · Answer

Top gun

Abby03 · Answer

The Doors.

QuietRunner · Answer

Real Genius

Actor Val Kilmer has died. What was your favorite movie of his?

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