90s blockbuster actor Val Kilmer, who starred in ‘Top Gun’, ‘Batman Forever’, Tombstone’ and in the music biopic ‘The Doors’, has died at 65 from pneumonia after a long battle with throat cancer. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015, undergoing a tracheotomy, which made it difficult for him to speak. Discussing his vocal issues, he said in 2020, “You have to figure out a way to communicate that’s no different than any other acting challenge, but it’s just a very unique set of circumstances.”

Kilmer was a graduate of Juilliard School’s drama division before starring in off-Broadway plays. His Hollywood break came in the 80s playing in the spy comedy ‘Top Secret’. He would later become a household name starring as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in 1986’s ‘Top Gun’ alongside Tom Cruise. The film grossed $344 million at the box office. On top of that, he would also star as Madmartigan in the fantasy film “Willow, as Doc Holliday in ‘Tombstone’, as rock icon Jim Morrison in ‘The Doors’ and as the caped crusader in 1995’s ‘Batman Forever’. He would later decline returning to the Batman franchise.

He spoke on his role as Batman in his 2021 doc, ‘Val’, saying, “Whatever boyhood excitement I had was crushed by the reality of the Batsuit … Yes, every boy wants to be Batman. They actually want to be him … not necessarily play him in a movie.”