Val Kilmer Sick: Top Gun: Maverick, released earlier this summer, marked Val Kilmer’s triumphant return to the silver screen after a long absence. In the film, the actor reprised his iconic antagonistic role opposite Tom Cruise, and the film also alluded to Kilmer’s real-life battle with cancer. Kilmer, now 62 years old, kept quiet for two years between 2015 and 2017 as he processed a devastating diagnosis of throat cancer.
According to CNN, during the peak of his career, the actor helped bring in over $2 billion for the film industry thanks to his roles in the original Top Gun and Batman Forever, as well as Tombstone and Heat. Fans and critics alike were concerned about Kilmer’s future after he opened up about the effects of his throat cancer treatment, including his inability to speak.
In a candid interview with the New York Times, Kilmer admitted that he initially resisted going to the hospital. According to the Times, Kilmer’s children eventually persuaded him to get treatment for his throat cancer, which included multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.
Kilmer reportedly recovered from his throat cancer diagnosis and went into remission after undergoing the procedures, as detailed in multiple sources, including his upcoming documentary Val and his memoir I’m Your Huckleberry. However, Kilmer’s procedures necessitated a tracheostomy tube in addition to a feeding tube, rendering him unable to speak normally.
Kilmer says in his upcoming documentary Val, which will look at the actor’s life and career until his cancer diagnosis and treatment, “Now that it’s more difficult to speak, I want to tell my story more than ever.” The film is set to be released in 2020. Since then, Kilmer has worked hard to overcome health problems and continue working, most recently making his highly anticipated return to Top Gun: Maverick in May.
According to this release from Northeastern University, the screenwriters purposefully incorporated Kilmer’s real-life cancer recovery story into the plot, with “Iceman” communicating with Tom Cruise’s protagonist character through typing, except for a single line of audio that was recreated from Kilmer’s natural voice using AI technology.
On Confirming His Cancer Diagnosis:
Kilmer didn’t come forward at first and has been selective about sharing details about his recovery; in fact, it was his friend and Hollywood colleague Michael Douglas who broke the news of Kilmer’s declining health. In 2017, Kilmer indirectly addressed his prior diagnosis during a Reddit AMA.
Kilmer wrote at the time, “[Michael Douglas] was probably trying to help me, [because] press probably asked where I was these days, and I did have a healing of cancer.” “But the swelling on my tongue persists, albeit gradually diminishing. People are concerned I may still be sick because I don’t seem [like] me.”
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Later that year, Kilmer told The Hollywood Reporter that his recovery from throat cancer had “taken its toll” on his health. Harvard Health notes that the vocal cords are often the first area to show signs of throat cancer before the disease spreads to other parts of the throat. Kilmer elaborated that he had recently undergone tracheal surgery, the effects of which had left him with a different voice and a chronic need for oxygen.
The procedure was later identified as a tracheotomy, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, “helps you breathe when the usual route for breathing is somehow blocked or reduced” by opening the throat. Medical professionals are unsure if they will be able to remove Kilmer’s tracheostomy in the future.
Val Kilmer Net Worth
Net Worth: | $10 Million |
Date of Birth: | 1959-12-31 |
Gender: | Male |
Height: | 6 ft (1.83 m) |
Profession: | Actor, Television producer, Musician, Voice Actor, Film Producer |
Nationality: | United States of America |
American actor Val Kilmer has a $10 million fortune. Kilmer has earned a remarkable reputation due to his many film and television roles. Top Gun, Batman Forever, The Doors, Tombstone, and Heat are just a handful of his acclaimed films. Since the mid-1990s, when he first started appearing in major blockbusters.
🙏 to all of the collectors of the iconic Billy The Kid drop! Thank you to @niftygateway @BLKPRLStudios @aalborzi @ApolloNft & especially to my collaborator & friend @Jose_Delbo We r forever intertwined through a common love of art & westerns! See y’al @KampKilmer
🤠🤠🔥🔥❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/1sMvprPX5M— Val Kilmer (@valkilmer) August 14, 2022
Val Kilmer has become one of the highest-paid actors in the world. Unfortunately, Val’s blockbuster career and income largely dried up due to his reputation as difficult to work with. His marriage broke up in 1996 when his income and wealth were at their highest. In 2015, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, severely limiting his ability to act and silencing him permanently.
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Val Kilmer Early Life
Val Edward Kilmer entered the world on the 31st of December, 1959. Val’s parents split up when he was eight, and his younger brother passed away when he was nineteen. In 1993, Val Kilmer lost his father, the first family member to pass away. Kilmer attended a school for Christian Science students up until the ninth grade, and then he transferred to Chatsworth High School.
Kilmer went to the same high school as Kevin Spacey. The two would eventually go on to similar professional and academic pursuits: Kilmer at Juilliard and Spacey at the Actors Studio. Once upon a time, Val Kilmer held the record for being the youngest student accepted into the prestigious acting program.
Val Kilmer Personal Life
As his career began, Val Kilmer earned a reputation as a significant heartthrob among female fans. One of the things that made headlines about him was that he dated much older women than himself, such as Cher and Ellen Barkin.
Kilmer’s first wife was the actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met in 1988 on the set of Madmartigan. The couple had two kids together before splitting up in 1996. Actor Val Kilmer is a Christian Scientist who frequently works on projects that explore spirituality.