Italian
Val Kilmer, known for his roles in Top Gun, The Doors, and Batman Forever, has passed away at the age of 65 due to complications from pneumonia
LOS ANGELES – The first thing that comes to mind when hearing the news of the death of American actor Val Kilmer at only 65 years old is his voice recreated with artificial intelligence. His last poignant performance, in which he reprises the role of the legendary pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
A prophetic farewell to the scene, as the character he played was also rendered voiceless due to an illness that would then take him away at a young age. A role he had reluctantly accepted, but couldn’t say no to due to the many insistences of his friend Tom Cruise, with whom he had shared the spectacular success of Tony Scott‘s Top Gun in 1986.
For those born in the ’70s/’80s, a true generational cult movie, on a par with Grease, Dirty Dancing, Ghost and a few others. A film that still, with each TV broadcast, reaches peak viewership, even after 40 years.
Val Kilmer had a difficult adolescence, then the opportunity to be the youngest enrolled at the Juilliard School of Drama in New York. He started in theaters and then landed his first major roles. In 1984, he played the lead role in Top Secret!, a zany comedy that parodies Elvis Presley films and in which he personally sings and dances. Then the comedy Real Genius.
But it is with Top Gun that he achieves consecration, rightfully placing him among the most iconic roles in the history of cinema. This is followed by the fantasy Willow, where he meets his future wife, and then his perhaps most complex role: Jim Morrison in ‘The Doors‘ (1991) by Oliver Stone.
For the occasion, the actor memorized all of Morrison’s songs, dressed like him, and hung out in the same clubs for months, trying to embody him so much that the real members of the Doors couldn’t distinguish his voice from that of the band’s former frontman.
In the ’90s he starred in various films. From Tombstone with Kurt Russell to Heat with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. He then took over from Michael Keaton in Batman Forever, with an exceptional cast including Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey, and Tommy Lee Jones. This was followed by a series of blockbusters: The Ghost and the Darkness, The Saint, At First Sight, and many others.
In 2014 he was diagnosed with throat cancer from which he recovers, but due to the operation he is left almost completely aphonic. From there came his last performance, as we were saying, in the role of the now Admiral of the US Navy Iceman Kazansky in Maverick. A fitting tribute to an iconic actor and character.
This morning the news of his death due to complications from pneumonia was instead given by his daughter Mercedes to the New York Times. Good last flight Iceman.
Photo Credits: Georges Biard/wikipedia
