Apr 02, 2025 06:48 PM IST
Hollywood star Val Kilmer died at the age of 65 on April 1. He was known for his intense method acting techniques.
Actor Val Kilmer, known for his performances in Hollywood films like Top Gun and The Doors, died on April 1. He was 65. The actor was particularly noted for using method acting techniques, wherein he would immerse himself with the state of the character he was playing in a film. (Also read: Val Kilmer, Batman Forever and Top Gun star, dies at 65 after long battle with cancer)
Kilmer’s method acting technique
The actor starred in the 1993 American Western film Tombstone, in which he played the hard-drinking Doc Holliday. Bloomberg reported how in preparation for the role, the actor “filled his bed with ice for the final scene to mimic the feeling of dying from tuberculosis.”
Tombstone also starred Kurt Russell, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, and Dana Delany. The film is considered to be a cult classic and one of the most memorable in Kilmer’s filmography.
What the actor said
Over the years, he has also been said to be a difficult presence on set for the rest of the crew. The actor had talked about his reputation and the decision to go the method acting route for his performances in his memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry (taken from the line in Tombstone). He said, “In an unflinching attempt to empower directors, actors and other collaborators to honor the truth and essence of each project, an attempt to breathe Suzukian life into a myriad Hollywood moments, I had been deemed difficult and alienated the head of every major studio.”
The actor was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014. Val, a documentary about his life that premiered at Cannes in July 2021, showed him needing a breathing tube. He reprised his hit role with 2021’s Top Gun: Maverick, although he could no longer speak due to his cancer.
