Looking at Val Kilmer's career so far, it's a wonder he even made it big. Not that we're not doubting his talent, of course. What he did for roles like Jim Morrison in The Doors was phenomenal. But Kilmer has made some iffy career choices since coming on to the scene in 1984. Not to mention, he's not always had the best temperament for an A-list celebrity.
These sorts of things tend to break careers early on. Still, somehow Kilmer was continuously thrown great opportunities, at least for a while until Hollywood got sick of his attitude and pickiness. Besides those things, though, it's mostly a wonder Kilmer made it big because while he was once touted as Hollywood's most bankable actor, it didn't seem as if he wanted it that way at all. Maybe his reasoning behind turning down certain roles and making weird career decisions will become clear in the new Val documentary. For now, we're under the impression that Kilmer never even wanted to become one of Hollywood's leading men.
His Reputation May Be Misunderstood
Simply put, Kilmer has earned a reputation for being difficult. Various people in Hollywood have called him obnoxious, and he's had altercations with the directors of some of his biggest projects, including The Island of Dr. Moreau's director John Frankenheimer and Batman Forever's Joel Schumacher, with whom Kilmer nearly came to blows.
So it's not hard to believe that executives were less than thrilled to give Kilmer some of the top roles of the time. In 1996, Entertainment Weekly wrote that when it was announced that Kilmer would be ending his time as the Caped Crusader, "the utter lack of public distress on the part of Warner Bros. was a sure sign that something had gone amiss for Kilmer."
Hollywood had had enough of Kilmer. The article explained that Kilmer had successfully "solidified his reputation as a versatile leading man" during his early career and then proved his "commercial viability" with Batman Forever. This lead to roles in Heat, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Ghost and the Darkness, and The Saint.
But despite this impressive resume, "many in Hollywood are loath to work with him, no matter how big the box office payback."
Frankenheimer had this to say about Kilmer; "I don’t like Val Kilmer, I don’t like his work ethic, and I don’t want to be associated with him ever again."
Oliver Stone, however, had no complaints about Kilmer‘s behavior on the set of The Doors. He said Kilmer "is passionate about his work–with the wrong approach, you may see a side of him you don’t like." Kilmer definitely showed that side of him on more than one occasion. EW wrote he "likes to make trouble. With a strong director, he performs. In the absence of one, he can become a liability."
On top of all this, Kilmer was exceptionally picky. Or so it seemed. Marlon Brando, who worked with him on The Island of Dr. Moreau, once said to him, "Your problem is you confuse your talent with the size of your paycheck." But that's the issue; there were signs throughout Kilmer's peak that hinted he didn't want any of the mainstream blockbusters.
He's Often Opted For Smaller Roles
Kilmer turned down Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 film The Outsiders for Broadway. Following his graduation from Juilliard, Kilmer wanted the stage, not the screen. So he joined the production of a small play called Slab Boys alongside Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn.
Even then, his mind wasn't completely made up, though. Kilmer explained that taking Slab Boys wasn't exactly his preference in his book, I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir, but he just couldn't pass up the opportunity to star on Broadway. "Well, of course, I minded, but of course I caved."
Kilmer also didn't really want to do Top Gun. According to the New York Post, Kilmer thought the movie had a "warmongering" message and thought the script was "silly." However, he was "under contract with the studio, so I didn’t really have a choice." He even tried some of his method acting techniques on set, but they backfired on him.
"I would purposely play up the rivalry between Tom’s character and mine off-screen as well," Kilmer said in the Val documentary. Eventually, his co-stars Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards started to keep their distance from him.
Instead of these types of roles, Kilmer wanted roles in films like Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (his videotaped audition didn't work) and chose to star on Broadway once again. He played Mark Twain in a one-man stage show called Citizen Twain, which Kilmer also wrote and directed. In 2012, the show toured the country, and in 2019, Kilmer released a film version called Cinema Twain.
According to Not Starring, Kilmer turned down roles, most of which were leading roles, in films like Crimson Tide, Dirty Dancing, Dune, Flatliners, The Godfather: Part III, Interview with the Vampire, The Matrix, Platoon, Point Break, and Se7en.
So we can't help but think that Kilmer may not have truly wanted the big-budget Hollywood career. We can back that up with Kilmer's own words. During a Q&A on Reddit, Kilmer talked about his past behavior. "I only cared about the acting and that did not translate to caring about the film or all that money. I like to take risks and this often gave the impression I was willing to risk the money not being returned, which was foolish of me. I understand that now…I was often unhappy trying to make pictures better."
On that bad attitude of his, Kilmer also said that the reason for it was because of "stupid people." He just wanted to make the best possible film. He may have gone about it the wrong way, but that was his priority. Sadly, Hollywood execs didn't recognize this, and Kilmer's career sank because of it. Now, it seems as if Kilmer is trying to get back to the career he always wanted.