Val Kilmer Biography:
Val Edward Kilmer was born New Years Eve, December 31, 1959, in Los Angeles, California to Gladys Ekstadt and Eugene Kilmer. Val spent most of his early years with his older brother Mark and his younger brother Wesley on the family's ranch, which was once owned by the legendary Roy Rogers. Val had the dream to act at very young age. The Kilmer brothers often spent their summers entertaining visitors of the guest ranch his parents owned at the time in Arizona. At the age of 12, Val filmed his first TV commerical for a fast food company. He attended Chatsworth High School, then for his senior year, he attended the Hollywood Professional School. He then completed his formal training at Julliard School of Performing Arts in New York City. At the time he was the youngest person to be accepted into Julliard's drama program. Val spent some time perfecting his acting skills on New York stages. His most noticeable performance was How it All Began, a production he co-wrote with his Julliard classmates, and The Slab Boys with Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon.
Kilmer got his first movie role in the comedy Top Secret! in 1984. Val's blockbuster hit came in 1986, when he played the part of Lt. Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky in Top Gun. He starred alongside Tom Cruise in the film. In 1988 Val played as Madmartigan in Willow, where he met his future wife Joanne Whalley. It was in 1991 that Val was solidified his place in Hollywood's A-List with his dead on portrayal as rock star Jim Morrison in director Oliver Stone's The Doors, then again in 1993 as he played Doc Holliday in Tombstone.
Val's most recently is lending his voice of KITT for the TV series Knight Rider, although, Val remains uncredited for the role on screen. As of 2009, he has completed the film Streets of Blood playing Detective Andy Devereaux. The film is set to release in the middle of the year. Val is also working on The Thaw playing the role of Dr. David Kruipen, American Cowslip playing the role of Todd Inglebrink, and The Steam Experiment playing the role of Jimmy. He is also working on Fake Identity, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Silver Cord, and he his voicing the role of Chris Shiherlis in the video game Heat.
Val Kilmer Quote:
"Being successful doesn't change things. There's a painful, lonely part of acting because you're always waiting. The thing about being a performer is doing, and when you have to wait, it's the same pain as when you're starting out and have no job. You think that thing will go away, but it doesn't. It just shifts. I remember Robert Duvall saying that being a successful actor is all about finding interesting hobbies, because if you don't have the right hobby, you die. It's very hard to maintain interest. Most actors don't. They become a little clichéd. You learn how to do tricks and stuff."
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