If one should look back at the Hollywood career of actor Val Kilmer, they would find and remember that in decades past, he was an absolute hunk of a man. In the 1980s he easily gave as good as got in acting with Tom Cruise on “Top Gun,” and in the 1990s he also had a turn as the Dark Knight on “Batman Forever.” Even his voice was pretty awesome, given that he voiced Moses on the 1998 DreamWorks Animated film “The Prince of Egypt.” He has been a bit scarce in recent years, though it may be because he contracted throat cancer and then got a tracheotomy this year.
But CNN would like to remind fans that not even the Big C will keep Val Kilmer down. The now 60-year-old actor was a guest on ABC’s “Good Morning America” this week Monday, August 3, where he talked about his medical procedure as well as his roles in several upcoming movies. Kilmer noted that the tracheotomy expectedly changed his voice and at times made talking more of an effort, but that he is not deterred. In his own words, he “feels better than he sounds.”
That operation was not the only big things for Kilmer in 2020, aka the year of COVID-19. Back in April his memoir “I’m Your Huckleberry” was published. And of course, there was his big return as “Iceman” Kazansky with old wingman Tom Cruise in Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” now delayed significantly to 2021 from its last prospective 2020 premiere on December. As principal photography for that film was in 2019 that means Kilmer’s appearance there will be from before having the tracheotomy and may be one of the last productions from before his surgically-altered voice.
The other candidate for that pre-surgery production though, is another film, “Paydirt,” where he has the honor and pleasure of co-starring with his daughter Mercedes Kilmer, age 28. What is more, they will be portraying father and daughter on screen as well. Mercedes, who was with her dad on “GMA,” commented on how proud she was to not just star with her father on a movie, but that she was working with an actor with a disability, which sends a powerful message to the audience. Val Kilmer had downplayed his true health condition from 2015 until 2017, when he came clean about his throat cancer.
Image courtesy of E! Online
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