If one should look back at the
Hollywood career of actor Val Kilmer, they would find and remember that in
decades past, he was an absolute hunk of a man. In the 1980s he easily gave as
good as got in acting with Tom Cruise on “Top Gun,” and in the 1990s he also
had a turn as the Dark Knight on “Batman Forever.” Even his voice was pretty
awesome, given that he voiced Moses on the 1998 DreamWorks Animated film “The
Prince of Egypt.” He has been a bit scarce in recent years, though it may be
because he contracted throat cancer and then got a tracheotomy this year.
But CNN would like to remind fans that not even the Big C will keep Val
Kilmer down. The now 60-year-old actor was a guest on ABC’s “Good Morning
America” this week Monday, August 3, where he talked about his medical
procedure as well as his roles in several upcoming movies. Kilmer noted that
the tracheotomy expectedly changed his voice and at times made talking more of
an effort, but that he is not deterred. In his own words, he “feels better than
he sounds.”
That operation was not the only
big things for Kilmer in 2020, aka the year of COVID-19. Back in April his
memoir “I’m Your Huckleberry” was published. And of course, there was his big
return as “Iceman” Kazansky with old wingman Tom Cruise in Paramount’s “Top
Gun: Maverick,” now delayed significantly to 2021 from its last prospective 2020
premiere on December. As principal photography for that film was in 2019 that
means Kilmer’s appearance there will be from before having the tracheotomy and
may be one of the last productions from before his surgically-altered voice.
The other candidate for that
pre-surgery production though, is another film, “Paydirt,” where he has the
honor and pleasure of co-starring with his daughter Mercedes Kilmer, age 28. What
is more, they will be portraying father and daughter on screen as well.
Mercedes, who was with her dad on “GMA,” commented on how proud she was to not
just star with her father on a movie, but that she was working with an actor
with a disability, which sends a powerful message to the audience. Val Kilmer
had downplayed his true health condition from 2015 until 2017, when he came
clean about his throat cancer.
Image courtesy of E! Online
0 comments:
Post a Comment