The role Val Kilmer rehearsed for on Marlon Brando’s private island: “My wife was a little upset”
Val Kilmer has played some of the most iconic roles in all of cinema. He got into the mind of Bruce Wayne for Joel Schumacher’s Batman Returns, an underrated entry in the Caped Crusader’s film history. As part of the ‘Top Gun’ series, he portrayed Lt Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, rival-turned-friend of Tom Cruise’s character who provided a surprising emotional note to Top Gun: Maverick. Health issues have prevented him from working as much as he would like, but he still makes sporadic appearances in films big and small.
Every actor has their own way of getting into character, and each individual role requires different levels of preparation. Variety asked Kilmer which of his many great performances drew him in the most, and his answer wasn’t from a movie or a TV show but rather a play.
“I took 10 years till I felt I had my own voice for Hamlet, which I did a couple years out of school,” he revealed. This is in reference to Kilmer taking on the role of Shakespeare’s tragic hero in 1988, which took place at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. The event is one of the oldest of its kind in the United States and is held in association with University of Colorado at Boulder. Kilmer was just 29 years old at the time, but had already made a splash in Hollywood.
“I had just gotten married and my wife was a little upset about me (practicing) the play EVERY DAY on our honeymoon,” he continued. Kilmer had met Joanna Whalley whilst making the film Willow, which also came out in 1988. “One stop was [Marlon] Brando’s island. I only did the play when no one was around in Tahiti.” The island in question is Tetiʻaroa, which forms part of The Society Island of French Polynesia. Brando bought the land, which is actually a collection of 12 mini-islands forming an ‘atoll’, in 1970 on a 99-year-lease. These days, it is home to The Brando Resort, an eco-spa and environmental research facility.
Brando and Kilmer would famously work together many years later on The Island of Dr. Moreau, a legendarily bad film. Both stars had reputations for being hard to work with in their primes, which made shooting the movie damn near impossible. Brando’s daughter died during production, which led him to spend most of the time hiding on his island, whilst Kilmer would regularly get into shouting matches with his fellow actors. Ironically, he was served his divorce papers from Whalley whilst on set, bringing their marriage to an end in a grim full-circle moment.
Alongside his role as the Danish prince, Kilmer also singled out his time playing Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s biopic The Doors as another career challenge. “I wore those Jim Morrison leathers for a year,” he said. “And recorded five entire albums… that was unusual.” Kilmer put himself through a hellish regime in order to bring the enigmatic frontman to life, including losing a lot of weight and learning over 50 of his biggest hits. He got so good at singing like Morrison that even the surviving members of the band couldn’t tell the difference.
When a role means a lot to Val Kilmer, he clearly takes it incredibly seriously. Whilst his dedication to acting often landed him in hot water with his colleagues, nobody can ever accuse him of not doing his job.
