Val Kilmer Donned Iconic 'Batman' Mask on Instagram Weeks Before Dying at 65: Everything He's Said About The Iconic Role
Val Kilmer had divisive opinions on his 1995 time as the superhero.
Iconic actor Val Kilmer's final Instagram post was an homage to one of his most iconic roles.
In a the video posted to his account on Feb. 23, Kilmer is seen sitting next to a painting of Batman, a character he played in the 1995 movie 'Batman Forever.' The clip sees Kilmer grab the mask and wear it for the final time to the public.
"It's been a while," Kilmer says in the video.
Kilmer played the role of Batman and Bruce Wayne in the film and has previously shared his thoughts about the role. According to Gulf News, Kilmer revealed that he accepted the role of Batman without ever reading the script after Michael Keaton had decided not to take part in the movie.
"The size of the character and how strange it was that Michael Keaton had decided not to do it — I just said yes, without reading the script," he said.
Kilmer also shared that the experience he had while playing Batman was that anything he has done before.
"Everything was different about this job than I'd experienced before," he shared.
However, Kilmer has also shared that he had conflicting feelings about playing the caped crusader. Kilmer originally hoped that he could be a "radical" version of the superhero, but Kilmer later referred to wearing the suit as a "trap."
"The trap was the suit," he shared.
Kilmer shared that in his documentary, 'Val,' that his childhood excitement over playing the role was ultimately crushed.
"Whatever boyhood excitement I had was crushed by the reality of the Batsuit. Yes, every boy wants to be Batman. They actually want to be him...not necessarily play him in a movie," he said according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Kilmer went on to reveal that the role of Batman was very isolating.
"I couldn't hear anything and after a while people stopped talking to me," he added.
Kilmer tried to solve the problem during his scenes with Nicole Kidman.
"I think it made no difference what I was doing. I tried to be like an actor on a soap opera. When I would turn to Nicole...I couldn't count how many times I put my hands on my hips," he said.
After being asked to play the role of Batman for a second time, Kilmer turned down the role in order to take on a role in 'The Saint.'
"It was like 10 roles in one," he claimed.
Kilmer died at the age of 65 on April 1. His cause of death has been attributed to pneumonia.
