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Top Gun and Batman Forever star Val Kilmer has died at age 65.
The Hollywood star, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, has died from pneumonia in Los Angeles, his daughter Mercedes confirmed to The Associated Press.
Kilmer's final movie appearance was a cameo in the Tom Cruise blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick in 2022.
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Kilmer played Tom "Iceman" Kazansky alongside Cruise in the original Top Gun film and he reprised the role in the sequel.
"I didn't want the part. I didn't care about the film. The story didn't interest me," he wrote in his memoir, AP reported.
He also starred as rocker Jim Morrison in The Doors in 1991.
His first movie role was in the 1984 Cold War spoof Top Secret.
Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and required two tracheotomies but kept it a secret from fans until 2017.
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He later recovered from cancer, however, lost much of his voice due to complications.
An emotional 2021 documentary about his life, titled Val, revealed the actor needed a breathing tube.
Kilmer's intensity also gave him the reputation that he was difficult to work with, something he agreed with years later.
"I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. I have behaved bizarrely to some. I deny none of this and have no regrets because I have lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed," Kilmer said in the documentary.
"And I am blessed."
In his appearance in the Top Gun sequel, Kilmer used an artificial intelligence-powered speaking voice to portray his character despite his speaking difficulty.
Before his final movie appearance in 2022, Kilmer worked on several projects including Paydirt in 2020 and The Snowman in 2017.
However, Nine's entertainment editor Richard Wilkins said Kilmer was quite reclusive even at the peak of his career.
"He wasn't the sort of person who necessarily had himself up in the headlines all the time," Wilkins explained.
"I think he pretty much kept to himself, he was a bit of a method actor and took his craft very seriously."
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Kilmer secured his big break with Top Gun after cutting his teeth as a stage actor and he played Iceman one final time in 2022.
"He was not a picture of health there and we could hear the toll his throat cancer had taken on his health," Wilkins added.
The renowned actor was born in Los Angeles in 1959 to his mother Gladys and real estate developer father Eugene.
An early tragedy marred his childhood after his younger brother Wesley drowned in a swimming pool in 1977.
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Kilmer studied at the Juilliard School in New York.
His acceptance into the school at age 17 made him one of the youngest-ever students to join the prestigious acting programme.
He married British actress Joanne Whalley and the pair divorced in 1996.
After this, Kilmer lived in Santa Fe for several years and also reportedly once considered running for governor of New Mexico.
Kilmer is survived by his daughter Mercedes and son Jack.
"I have no regrets," Kilmer told the AP in 2021.
"I've witness and experienced miracles."
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