Kilmer’s career took off when he was cast in the lead role of Ron Howard and George Lucas’s fantasy epic Willow (1988), where he met Joanne Whalley, his future wife and co-star. Prior to their 1996 divorce, the couple had two kids, Mercedes and Jack.
One of Kilmer’s most famous roles is that of Jim Morrison, the leader of The Doors, in Oliver Stone’s 1991 film The Doors. Kilmer made an eight-minute video of himself singing and dressing like Morrison at various points in his life in an attempt to get the role. The outcome was so convincing that Kilmer’s actual singing voice was used throughout the movie.
Kilmer’s career reached its zenith with The Doors.
His portrayal of gunfighter Doc Holliday in the 1993 western Tombstone is still a favorite among fans. He costarred with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Michael Mann’s Heat by 1995. That same year, he replaced Michael Keaton in the Batman outfit for Batman Forever.
