Val Kilmer Had One Major Regret From His Hollywood Career

On April 1, 2025, the entertainment industry lost a brilliant actor when Val Kilmer passed away due to pneumonia. He didn't act much in the years following his throat cancer diagnosis in 2014, but Kilmer's outstanding performances throughout the 1980s and '90s, including Iceman in "Top Gun," Jim Morrison in "The Doors," and Doc Holliday in "Tombstone," to name a few, cemented him as an indelible Hollywood legend. But despite boasting an incredible filmography that anyone would be lucky to have, even Kilmer had one regret about his acting career.

In a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair, Kilmer spoke about the idea of crafting alternate personas, which is something he never really did for himself in the public sphere. "I actually regret not having created a persona years ago like all of my wise contemporaries [did]," he explained. "Basically, our whole gang of wonderful talent, like Johnny Depp and Nic Cage and Sean Penn—everybody has a pretty solid identity. When I say each one of these [names], you have a very instant opinion about a very particular kind of character." In essence, Kilmer was talking about actors developing a "brand" for themselves, or having specific types of characters they play. Depp, for example, is known for playing outcast weirdos, while Penn leans toward portraying morally complex figures.

Kilmer, on the other hand, had far more variety on his resume and, despite his stated regret, that was just the way he liked it. "I just wasn't interested in my career that way, or my persona. My acting was really my only priority." It's hard to pin down what precisely a "Kilmer" role would be. Iceman is quite different from Doc Holliday, who's vastly different from Batman — but that's part of what made Kilmer a singular talent.

An actor having a brand can certainly work in their favor, especially in the modern digital age, but it can also be limiting. It's easy to become typecast, which is something Val Kilmer never really experienced. He was incredibly selective over the parts he took, particularly (and perhaps surprisingly) earlier in his career. In fact, he turned down the chance to work with David Lynch, the legendary director who died in January 2025, just a few months before Kilmer's passing.

Kilmer was offered the lead role of Jeffrey Beaumont in Lynch's 1986 film, "Blue Velvet. The role would eventually go to frequent Lynch collaborator Kyle MacLachlan, and Kilmer would later speak to Attitude magazine (via Far Out) about passing on the opportunity. "I was very naive when I was younger," Kilmer recalled. "I said 'no' to a ton of really wonderful directors, and looking back now, I can't remember the reasons why." Despite not being able to recall why he turned down offers from other directors, he admitted elsewhere in the interview that the graphic nature of "Blue Velvet" turned him off, explaining that he was "too shy" at the time — which is understandable considering the film has one of the most disturbing nude scenes ever filmed.

It's interesting to ponder what Kilmer's career trajectory could've looked like had he taken "Blue Velvet." Lynch's movie came out the same year as "Top Gun," a very different, much more mainstream film that nonetheless catapulted the young actor to fame and success.

Val Kilmer has an enviable filmography, one filled with iconic roles and movies. However, if he hadn't turned down some prolific directors, it would've looked much different. One of the more notable roles Kilmer turned down was a part in 1983's "The Outsiders," directed by Francis Ford Coppola, due to a prior commitment at that time. Had he been able to accept the offer, it would've allowed him to break out into the mainstream well before "Top Gun," as "The Outsiders" helped launch the careers of Patrick Swayze and Kilmer's future "Top Gun" co-star Tom Cruise.

Elsewhere in Kilmer's Attitude magazine interview, he mentioned that he "said no to Robert Altman twice," although it's unclear which of Altman's films he was talking about. We do know that the actor also turned down the lead role in 1987's "Dirty Dancing" due to not wanting to be typecast as a hunk. It's a perfect example of Kilmer's selectivity combined with his desire to avoid playing the same parts repeatedly, as he mentioned his contemporaries like Johnny Depp and Nicolas Cage doing.

The late actor's final role brought him back to his "Top Gun" character for 2022's "Top Gun: Maverick." Kilmer even came up with the idea for Iceman's storyline to incorporate his real-world health struggles into the movie. His inclusion in the mega-hit sequel was emotional for audiences who grew up watching Kilmer on the silver screen. Even though there are plenty of movies he could've been in, we're thankful to have the ability to watch and rewatch all of the films he made.