Val Kilmer Regrets Attitude That Got Him Labeled Difficult to Work With

Val Kilmer is well aware of those stories through the years painting him as difficult to work with. And on Wednesday, the actor said he regretted the behavior that earned him that infamy. 

Participating in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session, the Top Gun and Tombstone star received a slew of questions about his illustrious career, and one of those was about Kilmer being called out by colleagues for his on-set demeanor. (One example: He and director Joel Schumacher are said to not have gotten along while shooting 1995’s Batman Forever.)

Kilmer gave a candid, and somewhat lengthy, response to the Redditor’s question. 

“I didn’t do enough hand holding and flattering and reassuring to the financiers,” the actor began. “I only cared about the acting and that didn’t translate to caring about the film or all that money.”

Kilmer said he liked to “take risks” when working on a movie. In his mind, these risks were meant to secure the artistic integrity of the project, but they were seen as financially irresponsible by those who were putting up the money for the films. Kilmer admitted this behavior “was foolish” of him.

“I understand that now,” he added. “And sometimes when you are the head of a project and the lead actor is usually the reason a film is being made, unless it’s a superstar director, then it’s only fair to make people feel good and happy they are at work. I was often unhappy trying to make pictures better.”

Related Stories

Related Story

'Batman Forever': The Story Behind the Surprise Hit "Nobody Really Wanted"