Between Mark Twain and "The Iceman": 10 Strokes to a Portrait of Val Kilmer (10 photos + 1 video)
He might have been a cool pilot on screen and a charismatic genius off camera, but Val Kilmer's most important role wasn't written by a screenwriter. He lived it himself. 
With all his passion, pain, and unbridled devotion to art, which neither fame nor illness could exhaust, the actor we know from blockbusters kept many astonishing secrets.
1. Val Kilmer became the youngest student accepted to the Juilliard School 
Born on December 31, 1959, in Los Angeles, Kilmer performed on stage from his early school years, developing a natural talent for acting. After studying at the Hollywood Professional School, he entered the prestigious Juilliard School. At 17, he was the youngest student accepted to the drama department at the time. His studies at Juilliard had a lasting impact on his life. In 2020, Kilmer told The New York Times that the vocal exercises he learned there helped him communicate when throat cancer began to affect his speech.
2. He turned down a role in "The Outsiders" for Broadway 
"The Outsiders" (1983)
After graduating from drama school, Kilmer turned to the New York theater scene. He joined a production of the drama "Slab Boys" alongside Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn. As he wrote in his 2020 memoir, he turned down a role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film The Outsiders, based on the novel of the same name by Susan Eloise Hinton, to participate in this play. Kilmer admitted that a supporting role wasn't his first choice, but the opportunity to perform on Broadway proved too tempting.
3. His ABC Afterschool Special Wasn't Shown After School
Kilmer showed his dramatic talent early on in a 1985 episode of ABC Afterschool Special, a daytime series that addressed the pressing social issues of teenagers. He starred alongside Michelle Pfeiffer in the episode "One Too Many," which dealt with underage drinking. ABC aired the episode in prime time to attract a wider audience, deeming the topic important enough. Kilmer made a lasting impression as the high school drunk Eric. The New York Times wrote that Kilmer "radiated a sinister energy."
4. He was pranked on the set of "Top Secret"
In the 1984 film "Top Secret," Val Kilmer played singer Nick Rivers, caught up in an East German espionage plot. The film was directed by the trio of "Airplane" creators—Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker. They persuaded Kilmer to learn guitar in four months, but on the first day of filming, they told him he only had to fake it. No real talent or skill was required.
5. He Didn't Want to Do Top Gun
As Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, a cocky pilot in the 1986 film Top Gun, Kilmer confronts Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) during naval aviator training. Although the film was a hit and one of his most famous roles, Kilmer was reluctant to do it, fearing its militaristic message. However, director Tony Scott was persistent, convincing the actor that this was a chance to shine alongside the rising star Cruise amid impressive aerial footage. Kilmer later admitted that he deliberately kept to himself and provoked both Cruise and co-star Anthony Edwards off-camera to make their on-screen confrontation more believable.
6. He tried to interest Stanley Kubrick in video auditions
Matthew Modine in "Full Metal Jacket"
Kilmer disliked in-person auditions, preferring to send directors tapes. Wanting a role in the 1987 war drama Full Metal Jacket, he asked a friend to film him in uniform firing live ammunition. However, Kubrick ultimately chose Matthew Modine.
7. He took his role in The Doors extremely seriously.
Stories abound about Kilmer's immersion in the character of Jim Morrison for Oliver Stone's 1991 film, and his dedication to the role is hard to overstate. Kilmer rented a recording studio and made a recording, which he offered to Stone and the remaining members of The Doors to compare with Morrison's recordings. According to Kilmer, they couldn't tell the difference. After landing the role, he worked with the band's producer, Paul Rothchild, and imitated Morrison's speech and demeanor so closely that Rothchild begged him to stop, finding it too intimidating.
8. He voiced Kitt in "Knight Rider"
One of Kilmer's most unexpected projects was the 2008-2009 reboot of the 1980s series "Knight Rider." In the updated version, Michael Knight's son (David Hasselhoff) follows in his father's footsteps. Kilmer voiced Kitt, a sentient car. He replaced Will Arnett, who recorded the role but was forced to drop out due to a contract with GMC trucks. Kitt in the series was a Ford Mustang.
9. He played Mark Twain on stage
It's safe to say that Mark Twain meant a lot to Val Kilmer. The actor admired the writer his entire life and founded the TwainMania charity foundation to donate his books to schoolchildren. The most notable expression of this passion was the one-man show "Citizen Twain," which Kilmer wrote, directed, and performed in, wearing elaborate makeup. The hour-and-a-half-long production debuted in 2012 and went on a national tour. In 2019, a film adaptation, "Movie Twain," was released, with an introduction by Kilmer himself.
10. There's a Val Kilmer Museum
Various memorabilia from Kilmer's career, as well as some of his artwork, are housed at HelMel, an art and office space in Hollywood. It's both an art collaboration and a journey through the actor's past. Among the exhibits are socks featuring Doc Holliday, a Batman figurine with Mark Twain's head, and coasters featuring Jim Morrison.
