|
|
World of Westfahl |
Encyclopedia Introduction |
All Entries |
Acknowledgements
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
(1959– ). American actor.
He was a distant relative of Joyce Kilmer, a mediocre poet lucky enough to write one poem that became famous—"Trees"—and Val Kilmer inherited his luck. Born and raised in Los Angeles, and blessed with male-model attractiveness, he broke into major motion pictures in his early twenties; then, his leading role in the deservedly overlooked farce Top Secret! quickly forgotten, he drifted through the eighties without distinguishing
himself. At the start of the 1990s, however, he got another lucky break: he happened to resemble the late Jim Morrison, he had a decent singing voice, and trendy young director Oliver Stone had just decided to make a film about The Doors (1991). Inevitably cast in the leading role, Kilmer suddenly found himself a major Hollywood star, although his dull and dutifully decadent performance had none of the vibrancy of Gary Busey's Buddy Holly (which is why Busey got an Oscar nomination, and Kilmer didn't).
The next serendipitous boost to Kilmer's career came when both director Tim BURTON and actor Michael KEATON decided to abandon the Batman franchise, and director Joel SCHUMACHER was brought in to bring a lighter tone to the series; so Kilmer was suddenly asked to step into the role. And, one must admit, Kilmer was unexpectedly good as Batman—completely persuasive as indolent playboy Bruce Wayne, if a bit less persuasive as the obsessed crimefighter Batman, and much more
comfortable amidst the gaudy special effects and overacting villains than Keaton ever was. It should have been the beginning of a wonderful relationship—yet Kilmer, displaying the lack of intelligence already apparent from his aimless career path, declined a part in the next Batman movie so that he could launch a series of his very own with The Saint—though, of course, a weak script and his own inadequate performance brought that "series" to
an inglorious end after one film.
As another ill-chosen follow-up to Batman Forever, Kilmer also accepted a role as a subordinate heavy alongside Marlon Brando's Moreau in John FRANKENHEIMER's The Island of Dr. Moreau; however, while other actors have been inspired by Brando's presence to do their very best, Kilmer assessed the situation differently: observing that Brando didn't really give
a damn about his performance, Kilmer decided to emulate the Master. The trouble is, a lackadaisical Marlon Brando is a heck of a lot more interesting than a lackadaisical Val Kilmer—which is why, years after watching the film, you remember Brando and forget whatever it was that Kilmer was doing.
With another debacle that a wise actor would have avoided—the bizarre Dead Girl—added to his filmography, it now seemed that Kilmer, no longer boyishly handsome, might be relegated to peripheral assignments like providing the voice of Moses for the animated film The Prince of Egypt. But he got yet another lucky break when, after several hotter actors declined the opportunity, he was invited to join the cast of Red Planet in a role that seemed tailor-made for his lazy dimwittedness—an astronaut who didn't have enough ambition to be the commanding officer, didn't have enough smarts to figure out which buddy to trust and which buddy to watch out for, and didn't have enough strength to finish
an arduous trek across the Martian surface until he got a long-distance pep talk from commander Carrie-Anne Moss. Still, by being in the right place at the right time, and with a little help from his friends, Kilmer ended up as the hero—a part he will continue to play only as long as his luck holds out. |
|||||||||||
To contact us about encyclopedia matters, send an email to Gary Westfahl.
If you find any Web site errors, typos or other stuff worth mentioning,
please send it to our Webmaster.
Copyright © 1999–2008 Gary Westfahl All Rights Reserved Worldwide