Val Kilmer’s 6 Most Iconic Roles

One of Hollywood’s most famous faces, Val Kilmer, died on Tuesday at 65 years old.

To remember the screen legend, let’s take a look at his six most memorable roles.

Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick

For many, the first thing that comes to mind when you say “Val Kilmer” is “Iceman.” His role as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, the rival of Tom Cruise’s character Maverick in Top Gun, is likely his most enduring role—and that’s not just because he’s one of the few original characters to make an appearance in the sequel.

Tombstone

It seems nigh impossible to steal the show in a movie like Tombstone with how stacked the cast is—Kurt Russell, Sam Elliot, Bill Paxton, Robert Mitchum, Stephen Lang, Charlton Heston, just to name a few of the movie’s power players—but Kilmer’s supporting role as alcoholic gunslinger Doc Holliday is what most people remember about this bonafide classic Western.

Heat

In Michael Mann’s classic crime caper starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, among others, Kilmer’s performance is one of the best. As the right hand man to professional thief Neil McCauley, he excels in every scene—especially while managing the boundaries between his personal and professional life with his wife (played by Ashley Judd).

The Doors

This Oliver Stone biopic starring Kilmer as tortured rock legend Jim Morrison is one of the most committed performances ever put to film. The legend is that Kilmer spent six months doing nothing but rehearsing songs by The Doors and hanging out with the band’s former producer; when the original members of the band heard the movie’s soundtrack, they couldn’t tell if it was Kilmer or Morrison singing.

Batman Forever

In probably the goofiest version of the Caped Crusader put to screen, Kilmer memorably starred as Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever. Fans of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy of Dark Knight films might have severe whiplash when they see a Batman suit with nipples on it, but this version of Batman is a campy blast.

True Romance

Here’s the type of unconventional role you don’t see every day. In this crime comedy romance written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott, Kilmer plays the spirit of the long-dead Elvis Presley, who keeps appearing as a ghost to the protagonist (played by Christian Slater). It’s as wacky and unpredictable as it sounds. No one could do it like Kilmer.