Top Gun and Batman star Val Kilmer dies aged 65

Sad news

The actor was also known for his role in band biopic The Doors, where he played the band's frontman Jim Morrison, as well as 1995 film Heat.

Kilmer's daughter Mercedes told US media that he died of pneumonia in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

She added that he had throat cancer in 2014, but had recovered.

Tracheotomy surgery affected his acting career in his later years, but Kilmer made a comeback in Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, reprising his role as fighter pilot Iceman.

Hollywood names have paid tribute to Kilmer following the news of his passing.

"See ya, pal. I'm going to miss you," Josh Brolin wrote on Instagram. "You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There's not a lot left of those.

"I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts."

Josh Gad paid tribute on Instagram: “RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood. You truly were an icon.”

Filmmaker Michael Mann told The Hollywood Reporter: “While working with Val on Heat I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character. After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”

Kilmer was born in Los Angeles in 1959. His parents were Christian Scientists, and he adhered to the movement for the rest of his life.

He enrolled in prestigious drama school Julliard aged just 17, and became the then-youngest pupil to enrol.

He had two children with his ex-wife, Joanne Whalley.