Look back at Val Kilmer's best-known roles

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Steven McIntosh

Entertainment reporter

Getty Images Actor Val Kilmer attends the "Fourth Dimension" premiere during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the AMC Lowes Village on April 24, 2012 in New York CityGetty Images

Val Kilmer pictured at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2012

Ask a group of film fans which role they will most remember actor Val Kilmer for, and each person will probably give you a different answer.

His performances in films like The Doors, Heat and Batman Forever are all likely to come up, while Willow and True Romance have their own dedicated fans.

One of his biggest films, Top Gun, is not only beloved by people old enough to have seen it when it was released in 1986, but also a much younger generation who are familiar with the much-memed scene of Kilmer's Iceman playing volleyball.

Here are some of his most memorable roles from his wide-ranging stage and screen career.

Getty Images Walt Disney Television via Getty Images AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL - "One Too Many" - 5/1/85, Michelle Pfeiffer played Annie, one of four high school friends whose lives changed forever when her boyfriend Eric (Val Kilmer) drives drunk with devastating results, in the 1985 Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images Afterschool Special, "One Too Many"Getty Images

Kilmer's first screen role was opposite Michelle Pfeiffer in an ABC Afterschool Special. He played her character's boyfriend, who drives drunk with devastating results.

Getty Images Gabriel Jarret and Val Kilmer in publicity portrait for the film 'Real Genius', 1985.Getty Images

Another of his earliest film roles was in 1985 comedy film Real Genius, in which he starred opposite Gabriel Jarret.

Getty Images/Paramount Pictures Val Kilmer pictured in the movie Top Gun, directed by Tony Scott, in 1986Getty Images/Paramount Pictures

Kilmer's real career breakthrough came the following year, when he appeared in Top Gun, one of the biggest box office hits of the 1980s.

Alamy Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer in Top GunAlamy

Kilmer played Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, the arrogant rival to Tom Cruise's Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.

Alamy Val Kilmer in 1988's WillowAlamy

Two years later, Kilmer starred as a mercenary swordsman in Willow, the fantasy adventure directed by Ron Howard.

Getty Images Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley, film Kill Me Again in a casino in Las Vegas February 12, 1989 Las Vegas, NevadaGetty Images

Kilmer and Joanne Whalley starred together in films including Willow and Twixt, and in 1989 they played a couple who rob a pair of Las Vegas mobsters in Kill Me Again. They got married in 1988.

Getty Images Val Kilmer at the microphone in a scene from the film 'The Doors', 1991.Getty Images

Kilmer channelled the spirit of singer Jim Morrison in director Oliver Stone's 1991 biopic of US rock band The Doors.

Alamy Val Kilmer and Christian Slater in True RomanceAlamy

In 1993's True Romance, Kilmer played a version of Elvis Presley who is a figment of Christian Slater's imagination. The film was written by Quentin Tarantino and saw Kilmer reunited with Top Gun director Tony Scott.

Alamy Val Kilmer in HeatAlamy

In 1995, Kilmer delivered a memorable and chilling performance in Michael Mann's Heat, as the right-hand man of a criminal played by Robert De Niro.

Getty Images/Warner Bros Val Kilmer and Nicole Kidman in Batman ForeverGetty Images/Warner Bros

In the same year, Kilner played one of his most defining roles as Bruce Wayne, the titular superhero in Batman Forever, opposite Nicole Kidman.

Getty Images Val Kilmer reclines on a bench in a scene from the film 'The Saint', 1997Getty Images

In 1997, Kilmer appeared in The Saint as a high-tech thief and master of disguise who uses the moniker of various saints.

Getty Images Val Kilmer in a scene from the film 'The Island Of Dr. Moreau', 1996Getty Images

Not all of Kilmer's films were box office hits, however. The Island Of Dr Moreau, released in 1996, was a critical and comercial flop.

Alamy Val Kilmer in 2000's Red PlanetAlamy

Red Planet, which was set on Mars, earned $33m on a budget of $80m in 2000.

Alamy Val Kilmer as King Philip and Colin Farrel as Alexander the Great in 2004's AlexanderAlamy

In 2004, Kilmer played King Philip in Alexander, which co-starred Colin Farrell as Alexander the Great.

Getty Images Val Kilmer during "The Postman Always Rings Twice" London Photocall at Playhouse Theatre in LondonGetty Images

Kilmer's stage roles included a 2005 stint in London's West End in The Postman Always Rings Twice at the Playhouse Theatre.

Getty Images Val Kilmer, Robert Downey Jr, Michelle Monaghan pose at "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" photocall during the 31st American Deauville Film FestivalGetty Images

Later that year, he appeared with Robert Downey Jr (right) and Michelle Monoghan (centre) in the crime comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Getty Images Captain Inish Scull, (Val Kilmer, center, seen here with Troy Baker as Pea Eye Parker (left) and Keith Robinson as Joshua Deets (right) in the CBS mini-series, "Comanche Moon." Getty Images

In 2006, he appeared in CBS mini-series Comanche Moon, pictured with Troy Baker as Pea Eye Parker (left) and Keith Robinson as Joshua Deets (right).

Getty Images American actors Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer and Adam Goldberg on the set of Deja Vu, directed by Tony Scott.Getty Images

Kilmer again reunited with Top Gun director Tony Scott for hit 2006 action sci-fi film Deja Vu, also starring Denzel Washington (left) and Adam Goldberg (right).

Getty Images Actor Val Kilmer (L) and rapper 50 Cent (R) arrive for the 2009 American Music Awards at the Nokia Theatre at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles, California on November 22, 2009Getty Images

Kilmer starred in two films opposite rapper 50 Cent - 2009's Streets of Blood and 2010's Gun, both of which were released directly to video and DVD.

Getty Images Val Kilmer arrives at the Staples Center for the 54th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, February 12, 2012Getty Images

Kilmer was nominated for a Grammy in 2012 for best spoken word album, for voicing Zorro in an audio drama adaptation of The Mark of Zorro.

Getty Images Actor Val Kilmer performs on stage during the opening night of his one man show "Citizen Twain" at Hollywood Forever on March 30, 2012 in Hollywood, California.Getty Images

Kilmer played writer Mark Twain in a one-man stage show called Citizen Twain in California in 2012.

Getty Images Val Kilmer performs onstage while filming a new Terrence Malick film as part of the Fun Fun Fun Festival at Auditorium Shores on November 2, 2012 in Austin, TexasGetty Images

Later that year, Kilmer filmed scenes for Terrence Malick's film Song To Song at a Texas music festival. The film was released five years later, in 2017.

 Easter Special - Picture shows (L-R) Picture shows (L-R) Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer

In 2013, Kilmer appeared as himself in Life's Too Short, the comedy series created by Warwick Davis, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Kilmer and Davis had previously appeared together in Willow.

Getty Images Val Kilmer (L) and Al Pacino attend the Simply Shakespeare's Live Read of "The Merchant Of Venice" at Walt Disney Concert Hall on October 28, 2019 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaGetty Images

Kilmer was pictured with Al Pacino at a live reading of Shakespeare's Live Read of The Merchant Of Venice in 2019, more than two decades after starring together in Heat.

Getty Images Cher and actor Val Kilmer attend the 36th Annual Tony Awards After Party on June 6, 1982 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York CityGetty Images

Off screen, Kilmer dated a number of high-profile women over the years, including Cher, Angelina Jolie, Daryl Hannah and Cindy Crawford.

Getty Images Actor Val Kilmer speaks onstage at the "Twixt" press conference during the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF Bell Lightbox on September 12, 2011 in Toronto, Canada.Getty Images

Kilmer launched his movie Twixt at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011.

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