RIP Val Kilmer: Celebrating cult classic Real Genius is now a moral imperative

Actor Val Kilmer—star of Top Gun, The Doors, and Batman Forever, among other roles—has died at the age of 65 of pneumonia, Deadline Hollywood reports.

Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015 and while chemotherapy and two tracheotomies helped him defeat it, the procedures destroyed his voice. He spoke in a rasp or used an electric voice box for the remainder of his life and largely left acting. (He made a brief cameo in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, for which his voice was digitally altered.) The 2021 documentary Val, narrated by his son Jack Kilmer, followed his life and health struggles.

Kilmer had a reputation for being eccentric and difficult to work with, but he also had his champions, and his talent was undeniable. “While working with Val on Heat, I always marveled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character,” Michael Mann, who directed the actor in 1995’s Heat, told Deadline. “After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”

Sure, there were some stinkers over the course of Kilmer’s career, but he leaves behind an impressive list of roles that have stood the test of time. His portrayal of rock star Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991) was widely praised, as was his work in the 2004 black comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang opposite Robert Downey, Jr.

And who could forget his deliciously profligate Doc Holliday (“I’ll be your Huckleberry”) in 1993’s Tombstone or his colorful turn as Elvis Presley in True Romance that same year? Then there was the cocky “Iceman” opposite Tom Cruise’s Maverick in 1986’s Top Gun and Madmartigan in the classic fantasy adventure Willow (1988) that turned him into a major star.

But here at Ars, we’d like to remember him as Chris Knight in Real Genius, the rebellious, irreverent science whiz kid at the fictional Pacific Tech (a thinly disguised Caltech) who befriends a shy young 15-year-old freshman (Gabriel Jarret). It was only his second feature film role, but Kilmer was unforgettable. So we’re re-upping our 2020 tribute to the film in Kilmer’s honor.