Josh Gad, Josh Brolin and More Pay Tribute to ‘Smart, Challenging, Brave, Firecracker’ Val Kilmer

Val Kilmer‘s longtime friends and costars are sharing tributes following his death on Tuesday, April 1, at the age of 65.

Kilmer died after a battle with pneumonia, his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer confirmed to the New York Times. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, but later recovered she also noted. The actor famously starred in Top Gun opposite Tom Cruise, as Jim Morrison in The Doors, and in Batman Forever as the Caped Crusader.

The actor is remembered for his versatility and diverse filmography as one of the most interesting leading men of Hollywood throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

The Goonies star Josh Brolin shared a photo with Kilmer on Instagram, writing “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker.”

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The post continued, “There’s not a lot left of those. I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts. ❤️💔❤️💔❤️💔”

Josh Gad thanked Kilmer for providing childhood inspiration in an Instagram post. “RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood. You truly were an icon,” Gad penned.

Stranger Things actor Matthew Modine, shared on X, “RIP Val Kilmer. If it wasn’t for our chance encounter at the Source in 1985, I may never have been cast in FULL METAL JACKET. Thanks, Val.”

Michael Mann, who directed Kilmer in the 1995 crime thriller Heat, told the Hollywood Reporter how much he admired the star.

“While working with Val on ‘Heat’ I always marveled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character,” Mann said. “After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”

Meanwhile, Emmy-nominated TV writer and comedian Mike Drucker wrote a tribute on Bluesky saying that Kilmer, “felt like an actor who, no matter what the material, always understood the assignment.”

Brian Lynch, the screenwriter behind Minions and Secret Life of Pets, also paid tribute to the late actor via Bluesky. “The Doors. Top Secret! Tombstone. Top Gun. Real Genius. Willow. Batman Forever. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. True Romance. Macgruber. Heat. There was nobody like Val Kilmer. May he Rest in Peace,” he penned.

Esteemed film critic Richard Roeper shared on X that Kilmer deserved more critical acclaim and, “should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for ‘Tombstone’ and for ‘Heat.’ “

He also wrote that Kilmer was a “brilliant presence in some of the most enduring films of his generation. Rest well. Thank you for the incredible work.”

The U.S. Naval Institute mourned the actor behind Tom “Iceman” Kazansky with a tribute on X, writing, “#RIP actor Val Kilmer who passed away today at the age of 65. In addition to his appearances in BATMAN FOREVER and TOMBSTONE, Kilmer perhaps was best known for his role as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in TOP GUN. His final film was TOP GUN: MAVERICK in 2022.”