Pushed to the limit: Val Kilmer once named his most challenging role
It didn’t take long for Val Kilmer to evolve from an unknown into an in-demand star, but even before he made his feature debut in the classic comedy Top Secret!, he already had plenty of acting experience under his belt.
Clearly a precociously talented actor from a young age, Kilmer became the youngest person to ever be accepted into the prestigious Julliard’s Drama Division at the age of only 17. He was so dedicated to theatre during his beginnings that he turned down a role in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders due to prior commitments treading the boards, not that the film was lacking in future stars.
He was still just 24 years old when his first movie hit cinemas, but in no time at all, he was singled out as somebody with an incredibly bright future. Five of his first six big-screen roles came in Top Secret!, well-received sci-fi comedy Real Genius, smash hit blockbuster Top Gun, Ron Howard’s Academy Award-nominated fantasy Willow, and Oliver Stone’s biographical drama The Doors.
The latter may not have been the recipient of unanimous praise, but Kilmer’s turn certainly was. The actor both embodied and encapsulated Jim Morrison in what still ranks as one of the best performances he’s ever given, immersing himself in his research for six months in order to do justice to the iconic frontman.
By all accounts, losing the required amount of weight, painstakingly recreating Morrison’s signature mannerisms, learning how to sing and perform like him, and spending hundreds of hours with The Doors’ friends, acquaintances, bandmates, and producers sounds like an incredibly challenging process. However, Kilmer didn’t view it as the biggest obstacle he’d faced in trying to deliver his best work.
In fact, when he was asked by The Washington Post if Morrison was the single most challenging role he’s ever played, he answered in the negative. “No, Hamlet was,” Kilmer said, with his long-standing desire to lead one of William Shakespeare’s most famous creations coming when he performed it at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in 1988. It was a million miles away from Hollywood, but for the actor, it was the most demanding by far.
He did manage to find some common ground between Morrison and Hamlet, though, if only for the way they were both cursed by tragedy. “Ultimately, suicide’s the most selfish thing a human being can do,” Kilmer pontificated. “So I find that aspect tragic in the same way that Hamlet’s death is tragic.”
Kilmer has hardly built up a long and storied association with ‘The Bard’, but considering he had no qualms in naming Hamlet as the most challenging thing he’s ever had to do in his working life, maybe it had such a profound effect on him that dipping his toes back into Shakespearean waters lost its appeal.
