He flew a fighter jet. He drove the Batmobile. He rode into the O.K. Corral. And along the way, Val Kilmer led one of the most interesting movie lives.
You couldn’t pin Kilmer, who died Tuesday at 65, down in any genre or role. He did fantasies, spoofs, biopics, oddball indies – anywhere and everywhere that square jaw could take him, Kilmer went for it. Scenery was sometimes chewed as a result, as was gum – farewell, Iceman! – but he left an indelible mark on film lovers with a deep bench of main characters and over-the-top side weirdos that usually were pretty darn cool.
To honor Kilmer’s legacy, here are his 10 essential roles:
‘Top Secret!’ (1984)
Now this is how you start an iconic career, playing an Elvis-type rock idol sent to Germany and caught up in a resistance effort in a spoof of spy and war movies by the guys who did “Airplane!” Looking back, arguably Kilmer’s breakthrough role was his most fun.
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‘Real Genius’ (1985)
Kilmer didn’t fit the stereotypical look of a super-smart engineering nerd, though that’s kind of why he works so well in the comedy. As a teen college prodigy who takes on his teachers and the military with his smarts, he put a distinctive spin on an ’80s movie archetype.
‘Top Gun’ (1986)
With a crew cut and a cocky attitude, Kilmer took blond ’80s villains to a whole other level with Iceman. He gave Tom Cruise fits before ultimately deciding, yeah, he’ll be his wingman any time. Cut to decades later, and Kilmer gave us an emotional scene in “Maverick” that made our hearts soar seeing foes-turned-friends one last time.
‘Willow’ (1988)
There was never a ton of conventional derring-do on his resume, even in Ron Howard’s rather straightforward fantasy adventure. Here he was a sword-swinging scoundrel who may not have been the first pick to help protect an infant princess from a witch but Kilmer’s Madmartigan got it together to quest mightily.
‘The Doors’ (1991)
He became, quite simply, the Lizard King. In the biopic of legendary frontman Jim Morrison, Kilmer found the right balance of rock charisma – something he did seemingly naturally in a lot of his roles – and magnetic trippiness to sell us on this troubled yet undeniable psychedelic soul.
‘Tombstone’ (1993)
If you didn’t grow up in the heyday of Hollywood Westerns, this was your favorite giddy-up picture. And Kilmer’s Doc Holliday was your No. 1 outlaw, a wry guy who looked like death, drank laudanum like it was going out of style but was still dangerous as a rattlesnake. We will, in fact, be your huckleberry.
‘True Romance’ (1993)
Kilmer kept coming back to rock icons, though this was the most unconventional one of them all. In the crime romance, Kilmer plays a vision of Elvis who appears to Christian Slater enabling him to do very bad things, and although we can barely see the King, Kilmer always makes his presence felt.
‘Batman Forever’ (1995)
He wasn’t the best Batman, and he definitely wasn’t the worst. But for the extremely bonkers “Forever,” facing Jim Carrey’s Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face, Kilmer fit the bill, having the jawline for the Dark Knight’s cowl and the effortless suave for Bruce Wayne. He just needed more than one movie to make the hero his own.
‘Heat’ (1995)
Sure, that scene between Robert De Niro and Al Pacino takes up a lot of space when talking about Michael Mann’s seminal crime drama. Don’t sleep on Kilmer, though, as part of De Niro’s criminal crew who has one of the more intriguing emotional bits in the flick.
‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ (2005)
No one could say Kilmer was responsible for Robert Downey Jr. becoming Iron Man. That said, Downey’s Hollywood comeback was helped by this electric noir comedy. He and Kilmer played magnificently together, respectively, as a crook-turned-actor getting pointers on being a detective from a real private eye.
