Editing Val Kilmer (section)

===1980–1989: Early roles and comedy films===
Kilmer declined a role in [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s 1983 film ''[[The Outsiders (film)|The Outsiders]]'', as he had prior theater commitments.<ref name="outsiders">{{cite news |newspaper=The Irish Times |title=Val finds his voice |url=http://www.planetkilmer.com/discus/messages/407/1055.html?921547260 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050311122221/http://www.planetkilmer.com/discus/messages/407/1055.html?921547260 |archive-date=March 11, 2005 |access-date=October 24, 2009 |date=December 19, 1998 |last1=Dening |first1=Penelope |quote=I turned down a role in The Outsiders, because I was doing Shakespeare at the time and I thought it was right to stay with the play. I don't think I would have made the same choice now. Because great careers came out of that. Tom Cruise and a whole bunch of actors.}}</ref> In 1983, he appeared off Broadway in ''[[The Slab Boys Trilogy|The Slab Boys]]'' with [[Kevin Bacon]], [[Sean Penn]], and [[Jackie Earle Haley]]. That same year, his first off-stage acting role (excluding television commercials) came in the form of an episode of ''[[ABC Afterschool Special]]'' called ''One Too Many'', although it did not air until 1985.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/20/arts/teen-age-drinking-examined.html|url-access=subscription|title= Teen-Age Drinking Examined|first= John J.|last= O'Connor|date= May 20, 1985|work= [[The New York Times]]}}</ref> It was an educational drama on drinking and driving,<ref name="onetoo">{{cite web |publisher=RetroJunk |title=Val Kilmer |url=http://www.retrojunk.com/details_person/4/ |access-date=May 11, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212092335/http://www.retrojunk.com/details_person/4/ |archive-date=February 12, 2009 }}</ref> and co-starred a young [[Michelle Pfeiffer]]. Also in 1983, Kilmer self-published a collection of his own poetry entitled ''My Edens After Burns,'' that included poems inspired by his time with Pfeiffer. This book of poems is difficult to obtain and expensive; known second-hand copies cost $300 and up.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bookride.com/2007/02/my-edens-after-burns-val-kilmer.html|title=Bookride|author=Bookride|access-date=September 23, 2012|archive-date=October 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019091717/http://www.bookride.com/2007/02/my-edens-after-burns-val-kilmer.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thespiannet.com/actors/K/kilmer_val/index.shtml|title=VAL KILMER at THESPIAN NET|author=K. Kamarauskas}}</ref><ref name="movies.yahoo.com">{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/person/val-kilmer/|title=Val Kilmer|work=Yahoo Movies}}</ref>

His big break came when he received top billing in the comedy spoof of spy movies ''[[Top Secret!]]'', in which he played an American rock and roll star. Kilmer sang all the songs in the film and released an album under the film character's name, "Nick Rivers".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.moviestalk.com/legendary-actors-and-actresses-revisited-val-kilmer/|title=Legendary Actors And Actresses Revisited – Val Kilmer – Movies Talk|date=September 11, 2015|work=Movies Talk|access-date=July 19, 2017}}</ref>

During a brief hiatus, Kilmer backpacked throughout Europe before going on to play the lead character in the 1985 comedy ''[[Real Genius]]''. He turned down a role in [[David Lynch]]'s ''[[Blue Velvet (film)|Blue Velvet]]''<ref name="velvet">{{cite web |publisher=ContactMusic |title=Kilmer's Regret over Early Decisions |url=http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/kilmers%20regret%20over%20early%20decisions |access-date=May 11, 2006| date= November 2, 2005 }}</ref> before being cast as naval aviator Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in the action film ''[[Top Gun]]'' alongside [[Tom Cruise]]. ''Top Gun'' grossed a total of over $344 million worldwide and made Kilmer a major star.<ref name="tgun">{{cite web |publisher=The Numbers.com |title=Top Gun |url= https://the-numbers.com/movies/1986/0TGUN.html |access-date=May 11, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051204002034/http://the-numbers.com/movies/1986/0TGUN.html<!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = December 4, 2005}}</ref> Following roles in the television films ''[[The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1986 film)|The Murders in the Rue Morgue]]'' and ''The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains,'' Kilmer portrayed Madmartigan in the fantasy ''[[Willow (1988 film)|Willow]];'' he met his future wife, co-star [[Joanne Whalley]], on the film's set.<ref>{{cite web |title=Val Kilmer: A brilliant, underrated and unpredictable film star |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4n7xy3ew8mo |website=BBC|date=April 2, 2025 }}</ref> Kilmer starred in the [[Colorado Shakespeare Festival]] production of ''[[Hamlet]]'' in 1988.<ref name="Weber-2025" /> In 1989, Kilmer played the lead in both ''[[Kill Me Again]]'', again opposite Whalley,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Variety |date=1989-01-01 |title=Kill Me Again |url=https://variety.com/1988/film/reviews/kill-me-again-1200427937/# |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> and a supporting role in Gore Vidal's ''[[Billy the Kid (1989 film)|Billy the Kid]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goodman |first=Walter |date=1989-05-10 |title=Review/Television; Vidal Draws a Bead on Good-Bad Old Billy the Kid |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/10/arts/review-television-vidal-draws-a-bead-on-good-bad-old-billy-the-kid.html |access-date=2025-04-03 |work= The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>