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.
At First Sight (1999): $9,000,000
The Saint (1997): $6,000,000
Batman Forever (1995): $7,000,000
Attended Chatsworth High School with Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham. Ranked #62 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] Dated Cindy Crawford. [1996] Co-authored play "How It All Began," performed at the New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, in 1981. 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. Graduated from Chatsworth High, California. [1977] A Led Zeppelin fan. Wanted to turn down Juilliard but his classmate at Chatsworth High School, Kevin Spacey, convinced him to accept. 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. While being let out of the metal cage during the filming of the crossroads scene in Willow, the rope holding the cage up broke and the cage landed on Kilmer's foot, nearly breaking it. Later on in the film, Kilmer (who played swordsman Madmartigan) can be spotted having difficulty walking. Met first wife, British actress Joanne Whalley, when they filmed the 1988 fantasy Willow.They had two children: Mercedes (born 1991) and Jack (born 1995). Is the fifth actor to play Batman. Did his own singing while playing Jim Morrison in The Doors. The real members of the band said they had difficulty distinguishing Kilmer's voice from that of Morrison's. Turned down a role in The Outsiders because he was working with a theater company at the time, and if he had pulled out, the show would have been cancelled and his fellow actors out of a job. Got the role of Chris Shiherlis in Heat after Keanu Reeves, who was originally cast as Chris, backed out. Of all the actors to have played Batman, Kilmer was considered the best by creator Bob Kane. Contrary to popular belief, he enjoyed playing Batman despite his poor working relationship with Joel Schumacher during the production of Batman Forever (1995). During the sled riding scene in Willow, he can be seen wearing a black glove on his left hand. Is the only blonde actor to have played Bruce Wayne/Batman. Oliver Stone once considered him for the role of Alexander the Great in his long-delayed Alexander project. Kilmer plays the father of Alexander, King Philip, opposite Colin Farrell in the Alexander role instead. Did not want to appear in Top Gun but was forced to do so because of contractual obligations. Appeared in Tombstone opposite Charlton Heston. Five years later, he succeeded Heston in the roles of both Moses and God in The Prince of Egypt. Does a variation on his trademark of twirling objects in Willow: he twirls a sword during the fight in the snow camp. At the time that they were filming The Doors, Oliver Stone considered Kilmer for the part of Alexander the Great in his long delayed film project on Alexander the Great. Kilmer appears in the film as King Philip instead. Has played two legendary rock and roll musicians: Jim Morrison and Elvis Presley. He was 4' 11" when he entered high school. He acknowledged this on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Said that his daughter and her friends were "blown away" when they saw him in the Batman costume for the first time. Described the Madmartigan character from the 1988 fantasy Willow as being a "warrior on warrior skid row." Admits in interviews that he is a horrible cook. After his first film, Top Secret!, he went off and backpacked around Europe. Enjoys scuba diving. Enjoys traveling. Filmed his part as Elvis Presley in True Romance in 1 day. Friends with musician David Crosby. Good friends with actor Frank Whaley. Has lived in New Mexico since 1983. His father, Eugene, died in 1993. His first auditions were for commercials at 13 years old. His parents divorced when he was 9 years old. In 1995, Kilmer learned he was getting a divorce while watching CNN in a hotel room. "It was no fun," he has said. In the past he used to send taped auditions to filmmakers, figuring they would be much better (and less pressure) than live auditions. Loves buffalo and owns several on his ranch in New Mexico. Loves candles. Poet Joyce Kilmer is his second cousin twice removed. Stated in 1999 that At First Sight was his most challenging role to date. Turned down Patrick Swayze's role in Dirty Dancing because he didn't want to be perceived as a "hunk." Turned down roles in movies such as: Dune (1984), Blue Velvet (1986), Flatliners (1990), Captain America (1990), Backdraft (1991), Sliver (1993), Point Break (1991), In the Line of Fire (1993), Indecent Proposal (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), Batman & Robin (1997), The Insider (1999), Bandits (2001), Austin Powers in Goldmember (cameo) (2002), Collateral (2004), and Dark Matter (2007). Visited Iraq briefly in April 1998 with AmeriCares, delivering supplies such as food, medicine and baby food. He was in the Kalahari Desert in Africa researching a story he was writing about witch doctors when he was offered the Batman Forever Batman role. Wrote poetry for actress Michelle Pfeiffer. Broke his arm while filming The Doors when he performed a jump from the stage into the crowd and the stuntman failed to catch him. The injury has left Kilmer with an abnormal growth on his left elbow that can clearly be seen many times in Heat. Was originally set to play the lead role in The Island of Dr. Moreau but asked to switch roles because of his divorce. Keith Campbell has doubled for him in many films. Said that his divorce from British actress Joanne Whalley was the most painful thing he ever experienced. Warwick Davis, Kilmer's co-star in Willow, 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. Favorite band is Rage Against the Machine. While the movie The Missing 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. He and Elvis Presley, whom Kilmer portrayed in True Romance, both have Cherokee ancestry. Shares his birthday with Tim Matheson. Shares two roles with Peter Dobson. In True Romance, Kilmer plays Elvis Presley, a role Dobson played in Forrest Gump. Kilmer also plays Chris Shiherlis in Heat, which was a remake of Crimewave, in which Dobson played the role. Was originally cast as Johnny Mnemonic in Johnny Mnemonic but left the project when he was offered the role of Batman in Batman Forever. He was replaced by Keanu Reeves, whom Kilmer later replaced as Chris Shiherlis in Heat. 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. His work with the New Mexico Film Investment Program fueled a nearly 40-fold growth in the state's annual production revenue, from $3 million in 2002 to $117 million in 2006. Kilmer was eventually succeeded in the role of Batman by Christian Bale after George Clooney vacated the role. In The Prince of Egypt, Kilmer provides the voice of God, while Bale played Jesus in Mary, Mother of Jesus. Born to Eugene Kilmer and his wife, Gladys Ekstadt. His family has Scottish, Irish, Sephardic Jewish, Cherokee Native American (from a paternal great-grandmother), Swedish, German and distant Mongolian ancestry. Second cousin of journalist and poet Alfred Joyce Kilmer. His paternal grandfather was a gold miner in New Mexico. He and his old friend Kevin Spacey have both played iconic characters from DC Comics. Kilmer played Batman in Batman Forever, and Spacey played Lex Luthor in Superman Returns. 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. Was succeeded as Batman by George Clooney. 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. Actor Girard Swan has worked as his double on past films. Volunteered to work with AmeriCares in 1998.