In the 80’s, Val Kilmer was at the top of his career, but his work prime passed quickly. He still had quite a lot of work propositions, but he never reached the level he desired.
But, while he aspired to be a more accomplished actor, he was struck with a diagnosis that would change his life: throat cancer, as he revealed on April 26, 2017.
He struggled to reveal that he was sick because that would be bad publicity. Now, he’s much more open and revealed how cancer changed him, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The actor had to undergo a tracheotomy as a result of his cancer, which left him with a scar on his neck, a raspy voice and shortness of breath as part of his treatment.
He thankhed his Christian Scientist faitth for making the road to recovery easier for him. Despite his religion beliefs, he still went ahead and submitted himself to chemotherapy.
But, besides helping him get healthy again, Kilmer revealed that overcoming his illness also helped him become more relaxed and less uptight. According to the 53-year-old, that’s what held him back.
The star of Batman Forever, Real Genius and Top Gun admitted that he should’ve been more outgoing, and mentioned Meryl Streep, a three-time Oscar winner, as an example.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Kilmer confessed that he admired the actress and the way she portrayed herself in Hollywood. To him, being loved like she was would have been amazing because, after all, actors live to entertain others.
While he was in the UCLA Medical Center, he was accompanied by his daughter, Mercedes, who was involved in a car accident and injured her leg. When asked which one of her father’s movies she liked best, she said Heat, while her brother, Jack, said Tombstone.
Kilmer, who has 1,1 million followers on social media has been keeping himself busy and will star in four movies next year: The Super, Shaun Hart’s Riptide, 1st Born and Mark Twain and Mary Baker Lady.
