Despite the challenges he faced, Val Kilmer continued to work with renowned filmmakers such as Terrence Malick and Tomas Alfredson and also appeared in films Top Gun: Maverick and the intimate documentary Valwhich chronicles his remarkable career. Over the years, he has worked with some of Hollywood’s most famous personalities – a privilege that is considered one of an actor’s greatest rewards. Kilmer has shared the screen with legends he once admired as a young cinephile, cementing his own status as a cinematic icon.

For example, even though he found working with Brando challenging at times, he still had a lot of great things to say about the star. “Brando was everything you would want from the great icon of his world: a genius and a gentleman. I was getting divorced at the time and he was kind enough to give me time and time to think about it. He offered to call my ex on behalf of the children. He was one of the funniest men in the world. I still laugh out loud at some of the things he said and did. I mean, he literally had a salad bowl over his head,” he wrote during a Reddit AMA.

Although Kilmer has worked with many well-known stars, he once revealed how “flattered” he was when he found out that he was on the list of people a particular actor really wanted to work with. In an interview with Vanity Fair, He revealed that none other than Sean Penn wanted to work with him before Kilmer even landed his first film role. Kilmer, who had cut his teeth in the theater, was well trained and Penn was interested in acting alongside him, which came to fruition in 1983 when they both starred in a Broadway production of ” The Slab Boys.

Kilmer explained: “The best person to orchestrate this form of learning is Sean Penn. Sean is very practical. From what I understand, he simply wrote down everyone he wanted to work with and crossed them off the list as quickly as possible: Robert Duvall, Chris Walken, Robin Wright, Sam Shepard, etc.”

The actor claimed he was “always so flattered when he asked me” to take part The Slab Boys. “Actors live for validation, and that’s the biggest compliment.”

The play also starred Kevin Bacon and Jackie Earle Haley, both of whom would also become successful Hollywood actors. It wouldn’t be long before the cast of The Slab Boys would all move on to bigger roles, but the experience of working together certainly helped hone their skills and prepare them for cinematic greatness.

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