When Val Kilmer was in second grade, his father took him and his two brothers to the set of the hit 1960s TV show Batman, starring Adam West in the titular role. He even got to sit in the Batmobile.
Kilmer was on vacation in Africa years later when he got an offer via his agent to play the DC Comics hero and replace Michael Keaton in Batman Forever for Warner Bros. His star power was undeniable — he’d played Iceman in 1986’s blockbuster Top Gun and Doc Holliday in 1993’s Tombstone — but he abandoned his usual protocol and accepted the part without even reading the script, or apparently knowing who the director was (Joel Schumacher). It would be a disappointing experience, even if the 1995 blockbuster made him forever famous around the globe.
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The actor — who in recent years has been battling throat cancer — offers additional insight into his Batman Forever experience in Val, a new autobiographical documentary from Amazon Prime and A24 Films. The film is based on interviews with Kilmer, as well as hundreds of hours of home footage he shot through the decades.
“Whatever boyhood excitement I had was crushed by the reality of the Batsuit,” the mercurial actor says in the doc. “Yes, every boy wants to be Batman. They actually want to be him…not necessarily play him in a movie.”
Reminiscing, he admits envying co-stars Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey, who were able to flex their acting muscles when playing Two-Face and the Riddler, respectively.
The Batsuit was so restrictive that Kilmer felt completely isolated and even winded. “I couldn’t hear anything and after a while people stopped talking to me,” says Kilmer (he’s previously talked about some of his Batsuit woes).
His solution? Put his arms on his hips during scenes with Nicole Kidman, who played Dr. Chase Meridian.
“I think it made no difference what I was doing. I tried to be like an actor on a soap opera. When I would turn to Nicole…I couldn’t count how many times I put my hands on my hips.”
Kilmer famously refused to play the superhero for a second time. In Val, he says he did so in favor of playing the title role in The Saint. “It was like 10 roles in one,” he says.
Batman Forever further cemented Kilmer’s reputation for being difficult to work with; Schumacher is among some directors who have criticized the actor.
In Val, there’s behind-the-scenes footage of Kilmer jesting with Top Gun co-star Rick Rossovich about his reputation. “I’ve always been fired from my moves,” Kilmer quips.
Directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo, the well-reviewed doc made its world premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, although Kilmer was unable to attend.
Kilmer reprises his role as Iceman in the upcoming sequel Top Gun: Maverick, which returns Tom Cruise in the title role as Maverick. There has been plenty of stories focusing on how Cruise and Kilmer didn’t get along during the first Top Gun shoot; Kilmer explains in the doc they were simply trying to stay in their roles as opponents even when not shooting.
Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick is among numerous Hollywood tentpoles delayed by the pandemic. It is currently set to open in November.
