Actor that Must Make Comeback: Val Kilmer

Every so often I will post about an actor that needs a ‘fall-from-grace’ recovery.  Per my good friend’s request, I’ve selected Val Kilmer this time.  For me, Kilmer’s most memorable role was that of ‘Iceman’ in ‘Top Gun.’  But who can forget ‘Willow’ and ‘Tombstone’?  So what happened to his career?  Val Kilmer was rumored to have a tyrant-like reputation.  While filming ‘Top Gun,’ reports surfaced that Cruise and Kilmer’s mutual hatred for one another turned into a fist-fight.  And it doesn’t stop there.  On the set of ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau’, it’s alleged that Kilmer deliberately burned a cameraman’s face with his lit cigarette.  In fact, the director of that film, John Frankenheimer, said “‘there are two things [he] would never do again in [his] life.  [He] will never climb Mount Everest, and [he] will never work with Val Kilmer again.” Yikes!  Frankenheimer wasn’t the only director with Kilmer issues.  ”Batman Forever’ director, Joel Schumacher, once said that Kilmer was the “most psychologically troubled human being [he’s] ever worked with.”  Alright.  I don’t think I’m properly pleading my case for a Kilmer comeback.  I might have even convinced myself while writing this article that it’s not such a good idea.  Perhaps he’s changed and learned his lesson?  I thought he was great in ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,’ alongside Robert Downey Jr., though he has to salvage his hotness factor by losing the weight.  It’s possible isn’t it?  Sigh . . . when I think of another comeback kid I’ll let you know.