Related Articles
The first time Kurt Russell met Val Kilmer was when the Hollywood homegrown was hanging out with Cher on the set of Silkwood, a 1983 docudrama. Kilmer, a 22-year-old Juilliard graduate at the time who had yet to see the release of a string of Eighties hits such as Top Secret! and the blockbuster Top Gun, already had an elusive quality about him that would lead to some of his biggest roles. “I could see then that he was the young guy who was very serious about what he wanted to do,” Russell tells Rolling Stone.
Less than a decade later, Russell and Kilmer would find themselves on the set of Tombstone, one of the most revered Westerns. Playing the gunslinging John Henry “Doc” Holliday opposite Russell’s Wyatt Earp, Kilmer’s portrayal of the real-life Old West legend was hailed as one of the most striking performances in the genre’s history.
Following the news of Kilmer’s death from pneumonia at 65, Russell looks back at their work during the tumultuous making of the 1993 film, flying across Europe with Russell’s longtime partner Goldie Hawn, and the last time he saw his good friend.
Speaking with candor, Russell immediately addresses Kilmer’s reputation for being ill-tempered on set early in his career. “Yes, there’s been many things said about Val in terms of the reasons that he could be difficult to deal with, but we had a tremendously trusting relationship,” says Russell. “He was a sharp guy. I found his reasoning to always be solid on anything that had to do with with the movie.”
While some such as Batman Forever director Joel Schumacher found Kilmer “impossible” to work with, others found his dogged dedication to his craft a gift. It proved useful when Tombstone found itself in a production nightmare after its original director, Kevin Jarre (who wrote the script), was fired and replaced by George P. Cosmatos to reshoot the movie.
While Russell’s own part in bringing Tombstone to the big screen has been debated —Kilmer himself said his co-star was responsible for the film’s success — the veteran actor credits Kilmer for coming “through in spades.” “I thought his performance was one of his best,” says Russell. “We were always in cahoots. We were always thinking the same thing. That was a big part of why I had such a great time working with him. It was a collaboration in a lot of ways that is a wonderful thing to have.”
He adds, “I don’t disagree that he was complicated, but I just always felt he wore so many things on his sleeve that I couldn’t help but appreciate, and I had a soft spot in my heart for him.”
While Kilmer had a “rapier, acidic sense of humor that wasn’t appreciated by everyone,” it’s something that they bonded over. “It just makes me laugh when I think about it,” recalls Russell, who says Hawn joined them during promotion of the film, and the trio had an unforgettable time flying a plane, helmed by the Big Trouble in Little China actor, throughout Europe.
“We had a wonderful time in Europe. Goldie and Val and I,” he remembers. “There’d be times where we would be working all day, he and I, and he just weared me out. And I’d say, ‘Look, take Goldie and go out to dinner and have a good time. I’ll talk to you guys when you get back. I can’t hear one more word out of your mouth. I can’t see it. I can’t look at it. I can’t listen.’
“He used to call me ‘concrete head,’” Russell says with a laugh. “I was firm in my ideas, my approach.”
In 2014, a throat-cancer diagnosis slowed Kilmer’s acting career, and he struggled to speak after undergoing surgery.Still, says Russell, he never lost his sharp wit and humor.
Three years ago, Russell visited Kilmer at his home for the last time. “It was difficult for him to talk [but] he had wonderful things to say. He had a fairly good sense of humor,” says Russell. “He looked at me, and I looked at him. He said, ‘Sometimes, I could have been a little bit nicer to a lot of people.’ And he laughed. He was being retrospective, looking back on his life. He was a good guy.
“Everybody’s got their full 360 degrees of their person,” he says. “Nobody gets out of here alive. So I hope he rests in peace. If anybody deserves to rest in peace, it would be Val.”
