The Story Of Val Kilmer

Val Kilmer somehow managed to stray from the Hollywood spotlight lately, and since we think this awesome 55-years-old actor deserves to be there for at least a while longer, we decided to tell you the story behind this amazing actor.

How it all Began

Kilmer was born in Los Angeles, California. He attended Berkeley Hall School, a Christian Science school in Los Angeles until 9th grade, and then he went to Chatsworth High School, alongside Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham.

At the age of 17, he became the youngest person at the time to be accepted into the Juilliard School’s Drama Division, where he was a member of the famous Group 10.

He began his acting career as a stage actor, when he co-authored and starred in the play “How It All Began,” which was performed at the Public Theater at the New York Shakespeare Festival. In 1983 Kilmer turned down a role in Francis Ford Coppola’s film “The Outsiders,” as he was almost too committed to theater, but he soon realized that big business happens on big screens.

His first big break came a year later when he got the role in the comedy spoof of spy movies “Top Secret!”, where he played a rock-star Nick Rivers. Kilmer sang all the songs in the film and released an album under the name Nick Rivers.

But Hollywood didn’t recognize his true talent until his roles in “Real Genius”, “Top Gun”, “Willow” and “Kill Me Again”, and the real fame came in 1991 when he magnificently played the legendary Jim Morrison in the movie “The Doors”.

Kilmer will soon hit screens again via Terrence Malick’s still untitled musical drama project, while he is also working on his own movie “Mark Twain and Mary Baker Eddy”, a drama movie he will direct and star in. Looking forward to his comeback.