Getting into acting is tough for any performer, and many people with talent have had a difficult time breaking into the industry. Once you’re in, however, opportunity can come knocking at any minute, and it’s up to the performer to make the most of it.
Val Kilmer has been an actor for decades now, and his career is as unique as it is impressive. He’s done everything from playing an iconic fighter pilot to playing the Dark Knight himself for DC Comics.
Kilmer is a true talent, but is he difficult to work with? Let’s take a look at what some people have said about working with him.
Val Kilmer Had A Successful Career
In the 1980s, Val Kilmer became a prominent face in acting thanks to landing roles in successful projects. Kilmer was not an immediate A-list star, but he showed his chops early enough to land roles that helped him become a popular face in entertainment.
It was during the 80s that Kilmer appeared in projects like Real Genius, Top Gun, and Willow, all of which laid the foundation for the hits that he would go on to star in as the 1990s came around.
Through the years, Kilmer would deliver stellar performances in a number of projects. He would act in movies like The Doors, Tombstone, True Romance, Batman Forever, Heat, The Saint, The Prince of Egypt, Wonderland, and a whole lot more. The man was a major star during his peak years in Hollywood, and movie studios wanted nothing more than to have him lead their projects to glory.
While it is great that Val Kilmer found a lot of success in a notoriously difficult business to work in, stories have emerged about the actor being a total pain to work with on set.
He’s Clashed With Directors
Kilmer has long been known as someone who was difficult to work with, and stories from directors have emerged that certainly lend credence to this claim. As original Tombstone director, Kevin Jarre, put it, “There’s a dark side to Val that I don’t feel comfortable talking about.”
Jarre also told a bizarre stor about Kilmer on set, saying, “One day on the set, he and Kilmer “were deep in conversation about Doc Holliday, and this stand-in brought over a very colorful sort of locust and said, Look what I found!’ I looked up and said, ‘Hey, that’s pretty good,’ and Val, without saying a word, grabbed the locust from the guy and ate it. And it was big. He said to me, ‘As you know, I have a reputation for being difficult. But only with stupid people.’”
Another incident involved Joel Schumacher, who directed Kilmer on Batman Forever, which wa Klimer’s lone time playing the Caped Crusader.
“He was badly behaved, he was rude and inappropriate. I was forced to tell him that this would not be tolerated for one more second. Then we had two weeks where he did not speak to me, but it was bliss,” said Schumacher.
Making The Island of Dr. Moreau was difficult for all involved, and Kilmer was particularly tough to work with on that set.
Unfortunately, directors aren’t the only people who have had difficulties with Kilmer in the past.
Other Stories Have Emerged
The aforementioned Island of Dr. Moreau had a lot of problems, and Kilmer starred in that film alongside Marlon Brando. Brando himself had been difficult to work with in the past, and he was quite blunt with Kilmer.
“Your problem is, you confuse your talent with the size of your paycheck,” the actor said.
Another incident that took place involved Kilmer and Tom Sizemore on the set of Red Planet.
According to Radar, “During one confrontation, Kilmer attempted to put Sizemore in his place by bringing up their salaries. ‘I’m making ten million on this; you’re only making two,’ Kilmer shouted. Sizemore responded by throwing a 50 lb weight at Kilmer, but it missed.”
Clearly, Kilmer’s issues have impacted a number of people on different sets, but studios still saw the value that he could bring to a major project.
When speaking about his history of being difficult to work with, Kilmer said, “I like to take risks, and this often gave the impression I was willing to risk their money not being returned, which was foolish of me. I understand that now.”
So, was Val Kilmer difficult to work with? There have been good and bad stories to emerge about the actor, so it all depends on who you ask.