Finding out about his divorce from CNN, getting a bad reputation in Hollywood, and losing his voice to throat cancer. Val Kilmer once achieved the kind of fame others can only dream of, but his life hasn't exactly been perfect.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00Finding out about his divorce from CNN, getting a bad reputation in Hollywood,
00:05and losing his voice to throat cancer. Val Kilmer once achieved the kind of fame others
00:10can only dream of, but his life hasn't exactly been perfect. When Val Kilmer was 9 years old,
00:17his home life was drastically altered when his parents, Eugene and Gladys Kilmer, divorced.
00:22None of his peers had to deal with such trials, and it made Kilmer feel like the odd kid out.
00:27He told The Telegraph,
00:29It was obvious to me at the time that this was the biggest thing I'd been through.
00:33It was seen as what it was, an odd event, that something bad had happened."
00:38Though Val, along with his older brother Mark and younger brother Wesley,
00:42went to live with Eugene following the divorce, he didn't have a close bond with his father.
00:47Val also had a strange connection to Mark,
00:49with whom he butted heads over Eugene's estate after his passing in the 90s.
00:54Mark explained,
00:55Val has no example in his life of a good relationship he can look to.
00:59The siblings remained estranged for some time, but according to a source who spoke to Radar,
01:04they began to put their differences aside following Val's throat cancer diagnosis in 2015.
01:10The source went on to say,
01:11Mark is a well-regarded psychologist, so he doesn't see eye to eye with Val's Christian
01:16science beliefs. It has caused a rift between them in the past, but now they're finally getting
01:21closer again. Unlike the relationships with his father and older brother, Val got along with his
01:26younger brother Wesley. His sudden death in 1977 greatly affected Val. Wesley, who had epilepsy,
01:34suffered a seizure and drowned in a spa located near the swimming pool.
01:38Speaking to The Telegraph, Val said that Wesley had been an aspiring filmmaker, adding,
01:43Well, my little brother was, um, just an amazing artist, a genius. I was sort of in awe of him.
01:49My confidant had disappeared into dust, and our family was never the same again.
02:00Despite this heartbreaking loss, Val had to quickly pivot to achieving his own goals.
02:05The future actor traveled directly from Wesley's funeral to Juilliard,
02:09where he had been accepted into the institution's drama school, to begin his journey to the big
02:14screen. Still, Wesley never left his thoughts, with Val using his late brother's name to check
02:19into hotels when he started to become recognized in public. Batman Forever may have been a hit
02:25among the masses, but leading man Val Kilmer is noticeably absent from the 1997 follow-up film
02:31Batman & Robin, which stars George Clooney as the superhero. That's because Kilmer and director Joel
02:37Schumacher clashed heavily on set, with Schumacher describing the actor as, quote,
02:42the most psychologically disturbed human being I have ever worked with.
02:46Schumacher isn't the only person to view Kilmer, who is notoriously particular about his work in
02:51such a negative light. Early on in his career, Kilmer earned a reputation for being difficult,
02:57with numerous directors coming forward over the years to share their negative encounters.
03:02John Frankenheimer, the second director of 1996's The Island of Dr. Moreau,
03:06told Entertainment Weekly,
03:08I don't like Val Kilmer. I don't like his work ethic, and I don't want to be associated with
03:12him ever again. I remember him saying to a few of us that were standing around, you know,
03:18if I was directing a film called The Life of Val Kilmer, I wouldn't have that s---- in it.
03:23Kilmer is alleged to have burned a Dr. Moreau cameraman with a cigarette,
03:27ordered everyone on set of the 1997's The Saint to not make eye contact with him,
03:31and fired a prop gun while filming 1993's The Real McCoy because director Russell
03:36Mulcahy didn't give him his way for a certain scene. On his behavior, Kilmer is reported to
03:42have said, If I'm demanding, which I don't think I am, it's for the good of the picture.
03:47On the set of 1988's Willow, Val Kilmer and Joanne Wally fell hard and fast for each other,
03:52tying the knot mere months after their initial meeting. But their whirlwind romance wasn't
03:57meant to last. Eight years later, while watching CNN from his hotel room in the Virgin Islands
04:02where he was filming The Island of Dr. Moreau, Kilmer was shocked by the news report that
04:07appeared on the TV. Wally had filed for divorce from him due to irreconcilable differences.
04:13Kilmer told The Telegraph,
04:15It's a really weird thing, modern divorce. I found out I was getting divorced on television.
04:20That was kind of weird. Still, he worked to make sure the two children he shares with Wally,
04:24Mercedes and Jack, weren't as negatively impacted by the divorce as he was in his youth. He explained,
04:30It's more normal to be divorced now. It's not something bad now that parents just love
04:34each other differently and say the things that counselors teach them to say when they don't know
04:39what to say to their kids. Kilmer has a close bond with his kids, both of whom are following
04:44in his Hollywood footsteps. He and his daughter shared the screen in 2020's Pay Dirt, while Jack
04:49served as an associate producer and narrator for the 2021 documentary Val. Kilmer was the subject
04:55of tabloid weight-shaming articles in 2007 after being spotted at the beach with the Daily Mail
05:01publishing one entitled, Val Kilmer Goes From Batman to Fat Man. Then in 2012, the actor was
05:07critiqued by the media for appearing too thin. According to a TMZ source, Kilmer realized one
05:13day that he wasn't happy with his wellness and took steps to get back on track. Fed up with the
05:18criticism of his appearance, he released a statement on Facebook explaining that he also
05:23needed to achieve a slimmer physique to portray Mark Twain in a film that he was writing and
05:27directing at the time. As he wrote in the post, Can't win in this crazy town. Too heavy for too
05:32many years and now gossip says too thin. In 2015, Kilmer's world was changed forever when he was
05:39diagnosed with throat cancer. Initially, due to his Christian science beliefs, he had no intention
05:44of seeking conventional medical treatment, instead believing that he could make himself better
05:49through prayer and working with a Christian science practitioner. However, the concern of
05:53his children made him think differently and Kilmer agreed to undergo surgery, chemotherapy, and
05:58radiation. Kilmer has been cancer-free since 2016, though there are some lingering after-effects that
06:05he's had to learn to live with. These include a tracheotomy, a voice box to help him speak,
06:11and a feeding tube. Despite the efforts of his medical team, Kilmer holds fast to the belief
06:16that his own prayers are what led to him being cured, telling the New York Times of the tracheotomy,
06:21That's from radiation and chemotherapy. It's not from cancer. That treatment caused my suffering.
06:27Due to his tracheotomy, Kilmer's voice is permanently damaged,
06:31drastically affecting his everyday life and career.
06:34You have to make a choice whether you have this eye problem, whether you praise or hate.
06:42Still, Kilmer is finding new and creative ways to communicate, largely thanks to the audio
06:46technology, Sonantic. After the platform was fed hours of archival footage of Kilmer speaking,
06:52the British startup used advanced AI to recreate his voice, which is accessible to him in both
06:57personal and professional settings. The actor said in a statement,
07:02The chance to tell my story in a voice that feels authentic and familiar is an incredibly
07:06special gift. But now I can express myself again. I can bring these dreams to you
07:14and show you this part of myself once more. Additionally, despite his communication
07:20hurdles, Kilmer is continuing to add to his filmography with the help of Sonantic.
07:25A major achievement for him came in 2022 when he reprised the role of Iceman in Top Gun Maverick.
07:31Kilmer's diagnosis and the after-effects were even written into the script,
07:35with Iceman dying of cancer in the movie.
07:39As woman after woman came forward in 2017 with sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein,
07:45actor Kathleen Ohine found the courage to share an alleged incident of physical assault by Val
07:50Kilmer that occurred in 1989 during the making of Oliver Stone's The Doors. During an audition for
07:56the role of Jim Morrison's girlfriend Pamela Corson, which was eventually secured by Meg Ryan,
08:02Ohine was asked to read through a heated scene between Pamela and Jim.
08:06She claimed to BuzzFeed that, while running through the scene, the actor hit her in the face.
08:10When I got to the room and Val Kilmer picked me up and shook me, throwing me down to the floor.
08:15Stone just stood there the whole time laughing. I went down to my car and I cried for about 20
08:20minutes. However, casting director Risa Brayman-Garcia remembers things differently,
08:26telling BuzzFeed that Kilmer never struck Ohine in the face. According to Brayman-Garcia, Kilmer
08:32did pin her to the wall, but it was part of the scene, and Ohine was told about it prior to the
08:36start of the audition. As Brayman-Garcia told the outlet,
08:40It was way blown out of proportion. I am not somebody who takes this stuff lightly.
08:44I can tell the difference between something that's abusive and a moment that got carried away.
08:49But it was all in the context of work.
08:52From Cindy Crawford and Angelina Jolie to Sharon Ellen Barkin,
08:56Val Kilmer's lineup of high-profile ex-girlfriends is a lengthy one.
09:00Despite his once-vibrant dating life, however, Kilmer admitted in his memoir,
09:04I'm Your Huckleberry, that he hasn't been in a relationship for 20 years, writing,
09:09The truth is I am lonely part of every day.
09:12Though each breakup came with its share of heartache, his split from Daryl Hannah,
09:16whom he was briefly linked to in 2001, was the worst by a long shot,
09:20with the actor admitting to crying daily for over a year after they parted ways.
09:25As he told NBC News,
09:26Lord knows I've suffered heartache, but Daryl was by far the most painful.
09:30I know I would love her with my whole heart forever, and that love has lost none of its
09:34strength. I am still in love with Daryl. Unfortunately for Kilmer, Hannah has been
09:40married to singer-songwriter Neil Young since 2018. Still, Kilmer has maintained a strong
09:45friendship with Cher, his ex of the early 80s who aided him following his throat cancer diagnosis.
09:51In his memoir, he wrote,
09:52Once Cher works her way inside your head and heart,
09:55she never leaves. For her true friends, her steadfast love and loyalty never die.