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WTF Happened to VAL KILMER?

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Val Kilmer went from playing Tom Cruise’s rival in the sky to becoming one of Hollywood’s most puzzling disappearing acts.

JoBlo Originals’ “WTF Happened to…” series turns its lens on Val Kilmer, tracing a career that ran from goofball comedy to blockbuster stardom to a string of health battles that reshaped his voice and his output. The episode walks through four decades of film work — the hits, the reputation, and the throat cancer diagnosis that changed everything.

• Kilmer built his early career on comedic leads in “Top Secret!” (1984) and “Real Genius” (1985) before breaking through as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in Tony Scott’s 1986 blockbuster “Top Gun,” then followed it with the swordsman Madmartigan in Ron Howard’s “Willow” (1988).
• His 1990s run included playing Jim Morrison in “The Doors,” Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,” Bruce Wayne in “Batman Forever,” and sharing the screen with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Michael Mann’s “Heat” — even as industry reports built a reputation that he was difficult to work with on set.
• Kilmer was hospitalized in 2015 and publicly confirmed in 2017 that he was recovering from throat cancer, having gone through chemotherapy, radiation, and a tracheotomy that permanently altered how he speaks.

From Parody Comedy to the Danger Zone

Kilmer’s first real notice came from parody, not action. Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers cast him as Nick Rivers in “Top Secret!” (1984), and a year later he was the smug genius-in-training opposite William Atherton in Martha Coolidge’s “Real Genius.” Neither role hinted at what came next: Tony Scott put him in the cockpit as Iceman, Maverick’s ice-cold rival, in 1986’s “Top Gun,” and Kilmer went from comedy relief to a name audiences recognized instantly. Two years later he swapped a flight suit for a sword as Madmartigan in Ron Howard’s “Willow,” cementing himself as a leading man who could do both comedy and swagger.

The 90s Run That Made Him a Serious Actor

The next decade is where Kilmer’s range showed up on screen. He disappeared into Jim Morrison for Oliver Stone’s “The Doors” (1991), played FBI agent Ray Levoi in “Thunderheart” (1992), and stood alongside Kurt Russell as Doc Holliday in “Tombstone” (1993) — a performance many still consider his best. By 1995 he was Bruce Wayne in Joel Schumacher’s “Batman Forever” and shared scenes with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Michael Mann’s “Heat,” followed by lead roles in “The Ghost and the Darkness” (1996) and “The Saint” (1997). It’s the kind of stretch fans still bring up whenever a new Batman trailer drops and the comparisons to past Bruce Waynes start flying.

Directors and industry reports built Kilmer a reputation as difficult to work with — even as he was turning in some of his best performances of the decade.

Cult Favorites and a Quieter Career

The 2000s saw Kilmer trade box-office leads for character work that critics liked more than audiences noticed. “The Salton Sea” (2002), “Wonderland” (2003), David Mamet’s “Spartan” (2004), and Shane Black’s “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” (2005) all found him leaning into neo-noir and cult territory, with “Déjà Vu” (2006) reuniting him with “Top Gun” director Tony Scott. Francis Ford Coppola’s “Twixt” (2011) followed, but the leading-man roles that defined his 90s run largely dried up — a fade that echoes the way other actors’ reputations get picked apart, the same territory covered in pieces on Terrence Howard’s own Hollywood struggles.

The Health Fight Behind the Scenes

As his film output slowed, Kilmer turned to the stage, developing a solo show playing Mark Twain called “Citizen Twain,” alongside voice-over work and TV appearances. Privately, he was dealing with far more serious problems. After an initial hospitalization in 2015, Kilmer confirmed publicly in 2017 that he was recovering from throat cancer, having undergone chemotherapy, radiation, and a tracheotomy — a procedure that drastically changed his speaking voice and explains why he’s sounded different in every public appearance since.

Kilmer’s comeback isn’t just a footnote, either — he’s set to return as Iceman in “Top Gun: Maverick,” stepping back into the role that made him a star more than three decades earlier. However rough the road through cancer treatment and a changed voice has been, that’s the reunion fans are actually waiting on.