Val Kilmer named his favourite Beatles song: “The way it starts, it’s this attack”
When Val Kilmer auditioned to play Jim Morrison in The Doors, his eight-minute-long chronicle of the band’s different iterations left everyone stunned, making it impossible to imagine anyone else in such a high-stakes role. Even more impressive was how indistinguishable his performance was from the real thing, showcasing a side of him that reflected his admiration and observation of 1960s greats.
For this, among many other reasons, Kilmer was the dream casting for such a venture. While some directors enlist help from external singers or writers to bring their vision to life, Kilmer’s embodiment of the rock legend was so on the money that they didn’t need any of that, and instead, he did his own singing without the help of a backing track.
While this led to other unexpected difficulties, like the inevitable strain on his vocal cords, this all came from a place of really knowing the figure he was portraying in a way that went beyond his love for the music itself. As he later reflected: “I didn’t get seduced into his style of living but had to and needed to – for the role – to be as disciplined as he was in these escapades.”
That said, understanding these nuances also came with a deep-seated knowledge of the culture it emerged from and how figures like Morrison earned their reputation as musical legends. Growing up around the same time meant Kilmer experienced this transitional period firsthand, immersing himself in the sounds of bands such as The Doors and, of course, The Beatles.
While most people remember their first exposure to the Fab Four—forming deeper connections to certain songs due to nostalgia—others continue to resonate purely because of their innovation. After all, many still feel like revolutionary works of art, as if they were created by musicians with a real glimpse into the future. For Kilmer, on this basis alone, nothing beats ‘Eleanor Rigby’.
“That song, it’s two minutes,” he told KCRW. “And the way it starts, it’s this attack. There’s something about the energy which is rock n’ roll and then this subject grabbed me when I was a kid.” He continued: “I was born the last day of the ’50s, so the seminal years of rock history they were all crucial years in my life, like ‘Eleanor Rigby’, it kind of goes like most of my songs that I picked in my development and just awakening into artistic expression.”
This isn’t entirely unexpected. After all, many of the elements that make ‘Eleanor Rigby’ revolutionary are present in the opening notes. It also accomplished something that many artists of the era spent their entire careers striving for; blending storytelling with hard-hitting, poetic lyrics. Ultimately, it raised the bar for what rock music could be, drawing in listeners like Kilmer with its inexplicable depth.
And knowing the impact of this is what made Kilmer the perfect figurehead for representing their contemporaries decades later. Without living through it, it’s unclear whether he would have stepped into Morrison’s shoes so easily, knowing exactly where to explore nuances in mannerisms and singing style to truly capture the essence of the era.
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