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“The trick to being a good actor is getting so involved in your character that the camera disappears, the 50 bored guys eating doughnuts disappear, friends disappear. To get to that point when you don’t have to think about it, you’re just acting and reacting in those circumstances.” With a string of hit movies and iconic roles under his belt, Val Kilmer is known for the larger than life figures he has portrayed and the chiseled good looks that helped make him a household name. But from early on in his career, Kilmer was out to prove he was far more than just another pretty face.

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A true Renaissance Man, Kilmer’s interests extend well beyond Hollywood. An accomplished visual artist, his pieces have been exhibited all over the world. And in addition to his work on-screen, he is a director, producer and writer with two books of poetry to his credit as well as a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word. Curious as to where this man of many talents draws his inspiration? You’re not the only one!

Sired in the City of Angels

The middle child of Gladys, a homemaker, and Eugene, an aerospace equipment distributor and real estate developer, Val Edward Kilmer came into this world on December 31^st, 1959 in Los Angeles, California. Raised with his two brothers in the San Fernando Valley, he was brought up in a devout Christian Scientist household. He began acting at Chatsworth High School alongside actors Kevin Spacey and Mare before becoming the youngest student ever accepted into the Julliard School’s prestigious drama division. During his studies there, Kilmer co-write and starred in How It All Began (1981) at the Public Theater for the New York Shakespeare Festival.

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While continuing to hone his craft in the theater, Kilmer self-published a collection of his poetry titled My Eden After Burns (1983). But his big break came a year later when he was cast as rock star Nick Rivers in the spy spoof Top Secret (1984), for which he also recorded an album under his character’s name that enabled his considerable vocal talents to shine. Following another comedic turn as brilliant mathematician Chris Knight in Real Genius (1984), he landed the role of ace fighter pilot Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky in Tony Scott’s Top Gun (1986). Although only a supporting part, Kilmer’s portrayal came to redefine ‘the strong, silent type’ and thrust him into the spotlight.

Despite his preference for character parts that he saw as both more interesting and more challenging, Hollywood had other plans. “It’s the persona that makes you a leading actor. A leading actor has something extra that’s fun to watch. But it isn’t usually about acting.” And leading man status is precisely where he was headed. First in the TV movie The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains (1987), and then on the big screen in Kill Me Again (1989). That status was cemented when Oliver Stone cast him as Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991). In fact, his depiction of the legendary band’s frontman was so convincing the group’s surviving members had trouble distinguishing Kilmer’s voice from Morrison’s.

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Chosen by director Joel Schumacher to succeed Michael Keaton as Batman, the casting was considered controversial. Batman Forever (1995) was a box office success, even though both the film and Kilmer received mixed reviews. Rather than return for a second outing as the Dark Knight, he opted to play prodigious thief and master of disguise Simon Templar in The Saint (1997). Soon after, he voiced both Moses and God in Disney’s animated classic The Prince of Egypt (1998). In between he found time to indulge his love of those juicier character roles with memorable performances as Wyatt Earp’s long-time friend Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993) and as part of Robert De Niro’s bank robbing crew in Michael Mann’s Heat (1995).

Acting in the New Millennium

While he’d cemented his stature as a leading man, Kilmer proceeded to appear in a number of studio and independent films that were less successful than his earlier efforts. The sci-fi epic Red Planet (2000), the action/adventure biopic Alexander (2004) and the mystery/thriller Mindhunters (2005) were all critically panned and financially disastrous. Kilmer, however, did not let any of it affect his outlook. “The good reviews that people have told me about through the years haven’t really helped me do my job. So it’s kind of like, if your hair turns out right you want to go out, you don’t just want to stay in and look in the mirror. That’s kind of what reading a review is like to me; it’s like reveling in something that’s just one night.” With that in mind, there were certainly a few diamonds during this rough patch.

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He considers his role as former U.S. Marine sergeant Robert Scott in Spartan (2004) one of the highlights of his career. Not because the film was met with generally positive reviews, but because it afforded him the chance to work with master wordsmith David Mamet. He received high marks upon reuniting with Tony Scott to play FBI Agent Andrew Pryzwarra in Déjà Vu (2006) and as private detective Gay Perry in Shane Black’s directorial debut Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005).

His Personal Life and Other Passions

Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015, Kilmer managed to keep his two-year battle with the disease under wraps until announcing he had a “healing of cancer” in the spring of 2017. It was later revealed Kilmer had undergone a surgical procedure on his trachea   that left him raspy-voiced and often short of breath. It still hasn’t stopped Kilmer from living his life to the fullest.

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A talented photographer and painter, Kilmer’s work is displayed in galleries and pop-up shows from coast to coast. Aside from his artistic endeavors, Kilmer is an avid scuba diver and travels as often as his busy schedule allows. But his greatest love is for his two children, Mercedes and Jack. He met their mother, the English actress Joanne Whalley, on the set of Willow (1988). After the couple’s divorce in 1996, Kilmer was rumored to be in relationships with several actresses and models including Cindy Crawford, Angelina Jolie, Cher and Michelle Pfeiffer.

His deep admiration for the work of Mark Twain led to his writing the one-man show Citizen Twain. He subsequently filmed one of its many performances and renamed it Cinema Twain, often screening it for audiences across the globe. He then combined his respect for Twain with his lifelong devotion to Christian Science in a screenplay titled Mark Twain and Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, and plans to star in and direct the production in the near future. But it’s doubtful that will happen before the release of the long awaited sequel to Top Gun, for which Kilmer will reprise the role that made him famous.