Born in Los Angeles, California. Studied at Hollywood's Professional's School and, in his teens, entered Juilliard's drama program. His professional acting career began on stage, and he still participates in theater; he played Hamlet at the 1988 Colorado Shakespeare Festival. His film debut was in the 1984 spoof Top Secret!, wherein he starred as blond rock idol Nick Rivers. He was in a number of films throughout the 1980s, including the 1986 smash Top Gun. Despite his obvious talent and range, it wasn't until his astonishingly believable performance as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's The Doors that the world sat up and took notice. Kilmer again put his good baritone to use in the movie, performing all of the concert pieces. Since then, he has played two more American legends, Elvis Presley in True Romance and Doc Holliday in Tombstone. In July 1994, it was announced that Kilmer would be taking over the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne from Michael Keaton.


Blind Horizon (2003): $1,000,000
At First Sight (1999): $9,000,000
The Saint (1997): $6,000,000
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996): $6,000,000
Batman Forever (1995): $7,000,000

Attended Chatsworth High School with Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham. Dated Cindy Crawford. [1996] Was at the time the youngest student ever accepted into Juilliard's Drama department. His record has been supplanted by Juilliard student Seth Numrich, who was admitted at 15 in 2002. Val Kilmer and Marlon Brando infuriated director John Frankenheimer on the set of Island of Dr. Moreau, The (1996). Frankenheimer later vowed to never work with Kilmer again. Met first wife, British actress Joanne Whalley, when they filmed the 1988 fantasy Willow (1988).They had two children: Mercedes (born 1991) and Jack (born 1995). Did his own singing while playing Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991). The real members of the band said they had difficulty distinguishing Kilmer's voice from that of Morrison's. Got the role of Chris Shiherlis in Heat (1995) after Keanu Reeves, who was originally cast as Chris, backed out. During the sled riding scene in Willow (1988), he can be seen wearing a black glove on his left hand. Oliver Stone once considered him for the role of Alexander the Great in his long-delayed Alexander (2004) project. Kilmer plays the father of Alexander, King Philip, opposite Colin Farrell in the Alexander role instead. Appeared in Tombstone (1993) opposite Charlton Heston. Five years later, he succeeded Heston in the roles of both Moses and God in The Prince of Egypt (1998). Has played two legendary rock and roll musicians: Jim Morrison and Elvis Presley. Admits in interviews that he is a horrible cook. Enjoys scuba diving. Filmed his part as Elvis Presley in True Romance (1993) in 1 day. Good friends with actor Frank Whaley. His father, Eugene, died in 1993. His parents divorced when he was 9 years old. In the past he used to send taped auditions to filmmakers, figuring they would be much better (and less pressure) than live auditions. Loves candles. Turned down Patrick Swayze's role in Dirty Dancing (1987) because he didn't want to be perceived as a "hunk." Visited Iraq briefly in April 1998 with AmeriCares, delivering supplies such as food, medicine and baby food. Wrote poetry for actress Michelle Pfeiffer. Was originally set to play the lead role in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) but asked to switch roles because of his divorce. Warwick Davis, Kilmer's co-star in Willow (1988), says in his audio commentary that the question he is most frequently asked is: "What was is it like to work with Val Kilmer?" Davis says he has very fond memories of working with Kilmer, stating that Kilmer had a great sense of humor and was very dedicated to the job. While the movie The Missing (2003/I) was being shot about one hour from his New Mexico ranch, he called up his old friend Ron Howard [writer/director] and asked for a part. Ron gladly accepted and gave him a part which only took 3 days to film. Kilmer's scene is close to 13 minutes long, not counting the DVD's deleted scene. Shares two roles with Peter Dobson. In True Romance (1993), Kilmer plays Elvis Presley, a role Dobson played in Forrest Gump (1994). Kilmer also plays Chris Shiherlis in Heat (1995), which was a remake of L.A. Takedown (1989) (TV), in which Dobson played the role. Grew up in the San Fernando Valley the middle son of three boys (Mark the eldest; Wesley the youngest). During his high school years, Wesley drowned in the family's swimming pool, an incident Val claims inspired his subsequent performance in The Salton Sea (2002). Kilmer was eventually succeeded in the role of Batman by Christian Bale after George Clooney vacated the role. In The Prince of Egypt (1998), Kilmer provides the voice of God, while Bale played Jesus in Mary, Mother of Jesus (1999) (TV). His family has Scottish, Irish, Sephardic Jewish, Cherokee Native American (from a paternal great-grandmother), Swedish, German and distant Mongolian ancestry. His paternal grandfather was a gold miner in New Mexico. Was considered for the role of Captain America/Steve Rogers in the failed 1990 film adaptation of the character. Captain America later fought Batman, whom Kilmer played, in the 1996 DC vs. Marvel storyline. To date (2007), he has appeared in one Tony Scott film per decade, for three decades. First was Top Gun in 1986, then True Romance in 1993, and then Deja Vu in 2006. Volunteered to work with AmeriCares in 1998. Younger brother of Mark and older brother of Wesley. Father, with Joanne Whalley, of daughter Mercedes Kilmer (born October 29, 1991) and son Jack Kilmer (born June 6, 1995). Is a longtime board member of the New Mexico State Film Commission, which tries to persuade Los Angeles - based filmmakers and studios to film on location in New Mexico.