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A Julliard graduate, a film star, an actor who could play everything. From fantasy heroes to aviation antagonists, bank robbers to superheroes. Charming main roles or crazy sidekicks: Val Kilmer was all of this and much, much more. (Whoever wants to understand what exactly this “more” means, see: “Val”, the autobiographical documentary that the actor produced from dozens of home videos and self -turned testimonials.)
Despite the fact that Kilmer For a good decade, his death had been surprising at the age of 65. But his films remain – and the legacy he leaves it could hardly be more impressive about the talent, what presence he had on the screen and how ready he was to take risks – and how often they paid off.
Here are our favorites of his best roles – from “Top Secret!” to “Top Gun: Maverick”. We will miss you, Val.
The 10 best films by Val Kilmer
1 Top secret! (1984)
As a teenager, Kilmer was often a guest in the Kentucky Fried Theater in Los Angeles, where the notorious Trio David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker performed Sketch comedy, who regularly blown up the limits of good taste. He was a big fan of the film “Kentucky Fried Movie” from 1977, which they had shot together with John Landis. When the ZAZ team then for the successor comedy of their hits “Airplane!” (1980), the otherwise serious actor was immediately there.
“Top Secret!” -An absurd mixture of parody on spy films of the Cold War and Elvis musicals-made Kilmer’s good looks for weapon and offered him the chance to demonstrate his versatility right at the beginning of his career. It was a furious screen debut: he got the girl, was allowed to give the rock star and put his Julliard training in to eradicate an insane and complicated dialogue at an insanely pace. The film was formerly evidence of Kilmer’s comedic timing and its willingness to hang in fully. David Fear
2 Real Genius (1985)
When Chris Knight, a young scientific professional shortly before graduation at an elite university on the west coast, Kilmer teaches his jammed roommate how to enjoy life-and also give the audience a lesson in relief and self-irony.
This college comedy from 1985 is less often mentioned as the “The Breakfast Club” or “Weird Science”, but “Real Genius” has been wonderfully aged thanks to Kilmer’s careless, snappy presence. Whether he builds an ice rink in the dorm or shines with dry sayings – Kilmer gives Chris Knight a mixture of nonchalance, intelligence and subversion, which made him an identification figure for those who felt out of place at the university. And by the way, he made it clear that ingenuity and fun are not mutually exclusive.
– Joseph Hudak
3 Top Gun (1986)
“” This is Iceman … so he flies: ice cold. No mistakes. “
Kilmer originally had no interest in playing fast jets in Tony Scotts Ode and the men who fly them – for him the film was just another piece of military propaganda. (He bluntly expresses himself in his memoirs: “I didn’t want the role. The film didn’t interest me. The story didn’t pack me.”)
But director Tony Scott was determined to fill Kilmer as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky – the cool, inviolable rival of Tom Cruises Maverick. Scott’s enthusiasm finally convinced the hesitant actor.
Today it is unthinkable to imagine “Top Gun” without Kilmer’s performance as an unshakable pilot – as a perfect contrast to cruises that broke up. And of course because of the legendary bromentic blessing of Maverick:
“You can be my wing man at any time.”
When Kilmer finally saw the finished film, he stormed into the offices of producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson and called:
“You did it!”
He knew: that was an iconic blockbuster.
– DF