Val Kilmer, Hollywood leading man who once donned the cowl as Batman, has passed away.

At 17, Kilmer was the youngest person ever to be admitted to the Juilliard School's Drama Division. After appearing in stage productions and on Broadway, his first big-screen break came with 1984's Top Secret! Written and directed by ZAZ, the team behind Airplane!, the film starred Kilmer as American rock star Nick Rivers, who has been hired to perform at a festival in East Germany and soon gets wrapped up in a nefarious plot.

The following year, Kilmer played wiz kid Chris Knight in the comedy Real Genius. Following that, he appeared in what some consider his most iconic role: Top Gun. Kilmer played Lt. Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, one of the top students who butted heads with Tom Cruise's "Maverick". According to Kilmer, Iceman was the role many of his fans recognized him for.

Kilmer starred in the 1991 biopic The Doors as Jim Morrison. While the movie got mixed reviews, Kilmer was effusively praised. "He looks so uncannily like Jim Morrison that we feel this is not a case of casting, but of possession," Roger Ebert wrote. "The performance is the best thing in the movie – and since nearly every scene centers on Morrison, that is not small praise. Val Kilmer has always had a remarkable talent, which until now has been largely overlooked."

In 1995, Kilmer took over the Batcave from Michael Keaton when he portrayed Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever, starring with Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones, and Nicole Kidman. The film was a major box-office success, however, it would be Kilmer's only turn as Batman.

Other memorable films from Kilmer included Tombstone, True Romance, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and a voice acting role as Moses in the animated Prince of Egypt.

His final film role, fittingly, was in 2022's Top Gun: Maverick, where he reprised his role as Iceman, reuniting with Tom Cruise.

Kilmer was 65 years old.