Val Kilmer, July 2019. Photo:

EuropaNewswire/Gado/Getty

• Tributes around the world continue to pour in for Val Kilmer after the acting icon died on Tuesday, April 1 at 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
• Josh Brolin, Billy Zane and director Michael Mann are among the many to have paid tribute to the actor so far

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.

On X, Cher, a longtime friend to Kilmer who dated him in the ’80s, wrote, “Will miss u, U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND, kids U, BRILLIANT as Mark Twain, BRAVE here during ur sickness.”

Michael Douglas wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, April 2, “It was an honor working with Val on The Ghost and the Darkness nearly 30 years ago. Val will be greatly missed, but his legacy will live on forever in the films and performances he so brilliantly shared with us.”

Kilmer’s costar from 2005’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Michelle Monaghan wrote on Instagram that the late actor was a “kind, curious, committed, rebellious and radical gent.” She added, “I learned from one of the greats. An artist through and through. I treasured my time with you.”

Nicolas Cage says in a statement, “I always liked Val and am sad to hear of his passing. I thought he was a genius actor. I enjoyed working with him on Bad Lieutenant and I admired his commitment and sense of humor. He should have won the Oscar for The Doors.“

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.” 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.”

Val Kilmer in 1992. Fryderyk Gabowicz/picture alliance via Getty

Billy Zane shared a photo of Kilmer in the 1993 film Tombstone, in which he played Doc Holliday alongside Zane’s Mr. Fabian. “If ever a filmography captures the essence of a true artist by every definition, it’s this man’s canon. Rest In Peace Amigo. See ya when I see ya. @valkilmerofficial,” he wrote on Instagram.

Jennifer Tilly also paid tribute to the icon, remembering how she auditioned for the 1991 Jim Morrison biopic, The Doors, in which he played the lead role.

“A long time ago, I was auditioning for the movie ‘The Doors’ It was kind of a cattle call. They paired together potential Jims with potential Pamela’s. And they were running behind so we were spilling out of the casting office, sitting on the porch, the lawn, and the driveway,” Tilly wrote on X.

“All of a sudden, a sixties convertible came screeching up, blaring Doors Music at top volume. And a guy jumped out and strode inside: He had wild hair and he was barefoot, shirtless, and wearing nothing but a pair of tight leather pants,” she added.

“We all looked at each other like… Who is this guy? We were more than a little shook by the sheer audacity of his entrance. Well of course it was Val Kilmer and from that minute on, nobody else stood a chance. Rip King,” Tilly concluded.