When Val Kilmer hated Matthew Modine for absolutely no reason: “I’m sick of you”
Being branded as difficult is something that can follow an actor around for their entire career, which Val Kilmer clearly didn’t mind. As undoubtedly talented as he was when he first burst onto the scene, the question remains as to whether he would have become an even bigger star if he didn’t keep getting in his own way.
There were always signs that Kilmer was a prickly customer, though, dating right back to his breakthrough. Tony Scott’s Top Gun gave his career a massive boost, yet he didn’t have any issues telling anyone who’d listen that the only reason he was in the movie was because the studio strongarmed him into it by exercising a contractual obligation that meant he couldn’t say no.
Whether he was running amok on the chaotic set of The Island of Dr Moreau, throwing things at Tom Sizemore’s head in Red Planet, or bickering in public with Batman Forever director Joel Schumacher, Kilmer was never too far from the headlines and generating so much negative publicity is never going to have any positive long term effects.
Before Top Gun had even been released, Kilmer showcased his vindictive side by developing an irrational hatred for one of his peers, who’d been linked to a high-profile project helmed by one of the greatest directors of all time. Matthew Modine hadn’t even been officially cast in Full Metal Jacket yet, but when he went out for breakfast, he discovered that not only did Kilmer have the scoop, he wasn’t happy about it.
“So we were eating our pancakes, and there was a guy sitting over there,” Modine told Seth Meyers. “And I didn’t know who it was. It was Val Kilmer. And he was looking at me, saying obscene things to me. And I said, ‘Unless that’s an actor learning his lines or somebody with Tourette’s, he’s clearly telling me to F myself.”
“He said, ‘I know who you are. I’m sick of you, man,'” the actor continued. “You know, actors, every once in a while, we get on a really good run, and I’d done a bunch of movies. And he said, ‘Now you’re doing Kubrick’s movie, Full Metal Jacket. I said, ‘You don’t have to worry about that, I’m not doing Full Metal Jacket.'”
At the time, Anthony Michael Hall was in negotiations to play the role of Joker, who would eventually be Modine’s, but it didn’t come to fruition. Kilmer was another name in contention for the erstwhile protagonist of Full Metal Jacket, and even though Modine hadn’t even been cast and had no idea he was ultimately going to land the gig for himself, that was more than enough to make Kilmer hate him.
They’d never met before; Modine didn’t even recognise him, but the animosity was already palpable.
