From Left: Ron Howard; and Val Kilmer. Photo:

The actor, best known for roles in Top Gun and Batman Forever, died of pneumonia at the age of 65 on Tuesday, April 1.

Howard, 71, directed Kilmer in 1988’s Willow and worked with him again in 2003’s The Missing. On Wednesday morning, he took to X to pay tribute to the late film star.

Val Kilmer Opens Up About His 2-Year Battle with Throat Cancer and How It Changed His LifeVal Kilmer appears in ‘Willow’.

Kilmer began his career in Hollywood in the 1980s and was catapulted to a new level of fame after 1986’s Top Gun became a blockbuster success. His final on-screen appearance was in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, where he reprised the role of Iceman.

Val Kilmer in September 2013.

Where to Watch Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick

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Michael Mann, who directed Kilmer in the 1995 film Heat, opened up about the actor in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “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,” he recalled.

Kilmer was previously diagnosed with throat cancer, which he recovered from after undergoing treatment. However, his voice was damaged. “Now that it’s more difficult to speak, I want to tell my story more than ever,” Kilmer said in his 2021 documentary, Val.