1. Top Secret 1984
It was his first leading role of him. It was a satire on the spy films of the time. Kilmer played Nick Rivers, a singer who parodied the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley. In fact, Val was encouraged to sing without accessing dubbing or playbacks. He shared the bill with the great Omar Shariff, and for the young actor, it was a springboard to fame. At that time, Kilmer was in a loving relationship with the singer and actress Cher. Top Secret was directed by David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, who had already created a blockbuster hit, Where's the Pilot?
2. Top Gun 1986
The movie hinges on him. The premiere was a worldwide event. The promising Tom Cruise played Maverick, a US Air Force pilot. Kilmer was the villain and counterpart: Iceman. According to Val, this role would haunt him all his life: to this day everyone remembers it as the most transcendental of his career.
3. Willow 1988
The fantastic film directed by a young Ron Howard was quite an event within the smallest of families. There Val Kilmer met Joanne Whalley, a British actress with whom he would later marry and have two children: Mercedes and Jack.
4. The Doors 1991
Val Kilmer was born to give life to Jim Morrison, that charming singer who died at the age of 27 in a bathtub in Paris. His physical resemblance of him was impressive, and he pulled off one of his best performances of him. Directed by Oliver Stone, he shared the bill with Meg Ryan in a film that would establish him.
5. Batman Forever 1995
“Do you want to be the next Batman?” His agent asked him when he was on a trip to Africa. He immediately accepted. But the film was not a personal success for Kilmer, who felt suffocated in the superhero costume. In the same film, Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey shone as villains, while the female figure was Nicole Kidman. Much ado About Nothing.
6. Fire Against Fire 1995
As soon as he finished filming Batman, he went straight to the set of Heat, or Fire against Fire. His castmates of him? None other than Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The film was met with mixed reviews, but Kilmer was touching heaven with his hands sharing a cast with two of Hollywood's best actors.
7. The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
Working with Marlon Brando was a dream that many actors had. And not so many made it. Kilmer had the luxury of doing it in a film that, however, was a box office flop. Also, there were a lot of conflicts during filming, but Val created a great bond with Brando. During that film, Kilmer would definitely separate from his wife.
