The directors Val Kilmer said “set a new standard of oddness”
Even though it wasn’t a genre he was known for dabbling in all that often once he’d shot to stardom, let it never be forgotten that Val Kilmer made his film debut in one of the funniest studio comedies ever made.
Cast in the lead role of Nick Rivers in 1984’s uproarious parody Top Secret!, Kilmer united with the deranged masterminds behind Airplane! for yet another rapid-fire procession of quips, one-liners, and sight gags that further established the team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker as the sultans of the spoof.
Kilmer was initially discovered by the filmmakers after appearing in a play alongside Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon. His straight-faced sincerity made him the perfect focal point for a preposterous story, in which, at various points, he engages in a barroom brawl shot entirely underwater and a scene in a library filmed completely in reverse.
His most prominent roles very rarely required him to get silly, though, whether he was butting heads with Tom Cruise in Top Gun, trying to save a fantastical kingdom in Willow, embodying Jim Morrison in The Doors, trying to evade the authorities in Heat, or suiting up with rubber nipples in Batman Forever.
If it was up to Kilmer, he would have happily carried on his comedic career, but only if the Farrelly brothers eventually relented and agreed to cast him in one of their movies. The Abrahams, Zucker, and Zucker of their generation, the siblings became the biggest names in 1990s Hollywood comedy after arriving on the scene and stating their case through Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, and There’s Something About Mary.
In an interview with Spliced Wire, Kilmer conceded that it had been a long time since he dived headfirst into all-out comedy, but not before admitting that he’d tried to plead his case. “I know nobody will give me one,” he lamented. “I ended up calling the Farrelly brothers because they’re just so radical. They set a new standard of oddness.”
Although he did voice his concerns over how “guys that look like me usually get abused in their stories,” it was a chance he was willing to take. Despite the reputation for being difficult, which he acquired over the years, Kilmer stacked up plenty of evidence to showcase that with the right material, he was capable of being a comedic powerhouse.
Such parts were few and far between, even if he was sensational, generating top-tier chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. as Perry Shrike in Shane Black’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, not to mention his villainous turn as Dieter Von Cunth in Christopher Nolan’s beloved MacGruber. He never did get to work with the Farrellys, unfortunately, leaving his pleas to fall on deaf ears.
