What's Really Going On With Val Kilmer

In September 2014, a noticeably leaner Val Kilmer was photographed strolling on the beach in Malibu, Calif. Sources told TMZ that the Top Gun (1986) star noticed that he had let himself go in terms of weight. According to the gossip rag, Kilmer decided to start taking regular walks to shed the extra pounds rather than pop any diet pills.

At the time, there was no indication that the actor may have been ill. In fact, many outlets remarked that he had looked better than he had in years.

Still, it wouldn't be like Hollywood if Kilmer's dramatic weight loss didn't have its haters. Kilmer took to Facebook months later and took aim at his critics. "Can't win in this crazy town," he wrote. "Too heavy for too many years and now gossip says, too thin!"

He also revealed that his slimmer physique was due to preparation for his role as Mark Twain in a film he wrote and will direct. He explained, "Mark Twain was a thin man, and finally after the usual amount of effort, I'm thin again too. Perfect health."

In late January 2015, Kilmer was hospitalized. TMZ reported that paramedics rushed to the actor's home after someone called 911, stating that he'd been bleeding from his throat. Kilmer reportedly underwent surgery at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, Calif. A rep for the actor released a statement saying Kilmer was undergoing tests for a possible tumor, doctors were optimistic about his prognosis, and he was being cared for by his two adult children.

Kilmer disputed his own rep's statement, writing on Facebook, "I have not had a tumor, or a tumor operations, or any operation. I had a complication where the best way to receive care was to stay under the watchful eye of the UCLA ICU. Friends have assisted who know my spiritual convictions and have been most sensitive and kind for the extra effort in making sure there's minimum gossip and silly talk."

However, Kilmer did admit he had been hospitalized, adding, "Thank you all for your prayers, love and support. I'm so happy to say, the emergency that lead me to dial 911 is well over and I'm out of the hospital and in a safe healing environment. The doctors and nurses I met were wonderful and very respectful of my spiritual priorities and I can't thank you all enough for your professionalism and genuine care." The actor also tweeted a photo on his way home from the hospital in which he sported a high-necked hoodie and a big smile with the caption, "FREEDOM!"

In January 2016, a source close to Kilmer told Radar Online the actor was able to ditch the tracheostomy device he'd been wearing. "Val is telling friends that doctors believe they've gotten it," but added that Kilmer "speaks in a whisper and can't really talk. He actually looked pretty good—sturdy and not particularly frail." The insider added, "Val's whole mouth is wired up and he has a small whitish square on his throat near his Adam's apple where the surgery was." A famous pal reportedly came to his aid. The source told Radar, "Val is telling friends how Cher has been a huge help and a friend to him throughout this experience."

In February 2016, People reported Kilmer had stepped out without the device and even showed off a mostly-bare neck for the first time in more than a year.

After his throat cancer magically disappeared, Kilmer started his acting career back up by taking on several roles — and he wasn't afraid to undergo serious transformations in an effort to find success on the silver screen. In July 2016, he showed off a newly toned body on the set of the 2017 thriller The Super, posting photos of himself at work. But his role as Walter in the movie wasn't the only gig he'd booked.

According to IMDb, he has two films slated to debut in 2018: the crime drama Riptide, which co-stars Mira Sorvino and Chace Crawford, and comedy 1st Born. He also has a little too enthusiastically expressed interest in the upcoming Top Gun sequel. For those unfamiliar, Kilmer starred as Iceman in the original 1986 action classic.

As previously noted, Kilmer has also been cast as writer Mark Twain in the upcoming film Mark Twain and Mary Baker Eddy.

Kilmer was forced to cancel a tour after his tongue swelled so much that he had trouble speaking in November 2016.

Radar Online reported the actor had to bail on a performance of his one-man play, Citizen Twain, after his speech became slurred. "I went into rehearsals down in Florida and I started having trouble with my speech," the Batman Forever (1995) star told the audience at a screening of Citizen Twain in Los Angeles on Nov. 10, 2016. "Obviously I'm still recovering from it. My tongue swelled up and I canceled the tour...As I'm recovering I'm showing a movie so I don't have to talk. It's fun, I've been enjoying myself."

Kilmer addressed the issue on Facebook after the screening, writing, "I'm celebrating my health in public and sharing my best work with my community during these emotional times, and yet the press wrote last week was that I was 'denying the rumors of my illness...' I'm still recovering my voice but I was raging in Pasadena when we filmed my play in 2013."

Despite having originally dismissed all reports that he'd been diagnosed with throat cancer as false — and denying pal Michael Douglas' claims that he was seriously ill — Val Kilmer eventually got real. But surprisingly, rather than address the rumors in an interview, he instead decided to dish out the truth online to strangers.

In late April 2017, Kilmer finally admitted, after years of dodges and denials, that he was recovering from cancer via a Reddit AMA. When a fan asked about Douglas' allegations that Kilmer had cancer, the Batman Forever star replied, "He was probably trying to help me 'cause press probably asked where I was these days, and I did have a healing of cancer, but my tongue is still swollen altho healing all the time." In an obvious attempt to convince fans that he was okay, Kilmer noted, "Because I don't sound my normal self yet people think I may still be under the weather."

There are few things worse than receiving a life-threatening diagnosis from your doctor — but one of those things is certainly having your child involved in a major car collision. Unfortunately, that's just what Val Kilmer experienced. Almost immediately after Kilmer's docs determined he had throat cancer, Kilmer's daughter, Mercedes (seen here in November 2012) was injured in a serious vehicular accident, and the crash left Kilmer's kiddo with a permanent reminder of the scary ordeal: a large scar down one leg.

"We were in the same hospital at the same time," she told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published in December 2017.

As to be expected, Mercedes' accident and Kilmer's major health scare took a big toll on the family. In the same THR piece, Kilmer's son, Jack, shared, "I was just, you know, miserable, distraught, sitting next to these two." Fortunately for the Kilmers, the actor and his daughter eventually returned home to recover.

Everyone needs a hobby, especially when one's going through a life-altering health battle. So, in an apparent effort to cope with his presumably high stress level, Val Kilmer took up some new activities. A source told Radar Online that Kilmer was using art to take his mind off of his health issues. "He's drowning his sorrows in paints and brushes, stencils and metals and sculptures," the source said, adding, "His style is described as contemporary abstract and colorful pop art."

But Kilmer's newfound passion for art does more than help him combat any worries that he may have. Kilmer's art also reportedly allows the actor to express himself, as he allegedly struggled to speak articulately since battling cancer. As Radar Online's insider revealed, "It's a way for him to get through the day without talking since his voice is a thick inaudible rasp."

Kilmer isn't keeping his artwork to himself, however. He's also sharing it with the public. As reported by W magazine, Kilmer opened an first New York exhibit, "VALHOLLA," in June 2017.