(WGHP) -- Prolific actor Val Kilmer has died at 65 after battling throat cancer for many years, according to several news outlets. He is most well known for starring in Oliver Stone's "The Doors" as the iconic frontman Jim Morrison and as Bruce Wayne in 1995's "Batman Forever," as well as the ic onic Iceman role in "Top Gun." Actor Val Kilmer wears a suit and stares at camera in Los Angeles in 1986. (Photo by Bonnie Schiffman/Getty Images)American actor Val Kilmer on the set of Batman Forever, directed by Joel Schumacher. (Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)LOS ANGELES - MAY 16: The movie "Top Gun", directed by Tony Scott. Seen here, Val Kilmer as Lt. Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky. Initial theatrical release May 16, 1986. Screen capture. Paramount Pictures. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)American actors Cher and Val Kilmer arrive at the 56th Academy Awards, where Cher is nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Silkwood. (Photo by Bill Nation/Sygma via Getty Images)American actors Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise on the set of Top Gun, directed by Tony Scott. (Photo by Paramount Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)American actor Val Kilmer on the set of Batman Forever, directed by Joel Schumacher. (Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 18: Actor Val Kilmer attends the 2019 annual Thespians Go Hollywood Gala at Avalon Hollywood on November 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)Actor Val Kilmer visits the United Nations headquarters in New York City, New York to promote the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiative, July 20, 2019. (Photo by EuropaNewswire/Gado/Getty Images)Actor Val Kilmer visits the United Nations headquarters in New York City, New York to promote the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiative, July 20, 2019. (Photo by EuropaNewswire/Gado/Getty Images)MIAMI BEACH, FL - DECEMBER 08: Val Kilmer, Tracey Emin, Jorge Perez, Jason Piszctatowski and Brett Sawyer attend 'The Last Ten Years: Tracey Emin in Conversation with Alastair Gordon' during Art Basel hosted by Soho Beach House in Miami Beach 2017 on December 8, 2017 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images for Soho House)SANTA MONICA, CA - SEPTEMBER 25: Actor Val Kilmer attends the 23rd annual Simply Shakespeare benefit reading of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage on September 25, 2013 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 17: (L-R) Tobey Maguire, Owen Wilson and Val Kilmer attend The Broad Museum Black Tie Inaugural Dinner at The Broad on September 17, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images) Kilmer also starred in many classic films of the 1980s and 1990s such as "Tombstone," "Heat" and "Real Genius." Val Kilmer died from pneumonia. He had recovered after a 2014 throat cancer diagnosis that required two tracheotomies. “I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. I have behaved bizarrely to some. I deny none of this and have no regrets because I have lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed,” he says toward the end of “Val,” the 2021 documentary on his career. “And I am blessed.” Kilmer, the youngest actor ever accepted to the prestigious Juilliard School at the time he attended, experienced the ups and downs of fame more dramatically than most. His break came in 1984’s spy spoof “Top Secret!” followed by the comedy “Real Genius” in 1985. Kilmer would later show his comedy chops again in films including “MacGruber” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” His movie career hit its zenith in the early 1990s as he made a name for himself as a dashing leading man, starring alongside Kurt Russell and Bill Paxton in 1993’s “Tombstone,” as Elvis’ ghost in “True Romance” and as a bank-robbing demolition expert in Michael Mann’s 1995 film “Heat” with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. The actor — who took part in the Method branch of Suzuki arts training — threw himself into parts. When he played Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,” he filled his bed with ice for the final scene to mimic the feeling of dying from tuberculosis. To play Morrison, he wore leather pants all the time, asked castmates and crew to only refer to him as Jim Morrison and blasted The Doors for a year. That intensity also gave Kilmer a reputation that he was difficult to work with, something he grudgingly agreed with later in life, but always defending himself by emphasizing art over commerce. “In an unflinching attempt to empower directors, actors and other collaborators to honor the truth and essence of each project, an attempt to breathe Suzukian life into a myriad of Hollywood moments, I had been deemed difficult and alienated the head of every major studio,” he wrote in his memoir, “I’m Your Huckleberry.” One of his more iconic roles — hotshot pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky opposite Tom Cruise — almost didn’t happen. Kilmer was courted by director Tony Scott for “Top Gun” but initially balked. “I didn’t want the part. I didn’t care about the film. The story didn’t interest me,” he wrote in his memoir. He agreed after being promised that his role would improve from the initial script. He would reprise the role in the film’s 2022 sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.” Kilmer published two books of poetry (including “My Edens After Burns”) and was nominated for a Grammy in 2012 for spoken word album for “The Mark of Zorro.” He was also a visual artist and a lifelong Christian Scientist. He dated Cher, married and divorced actor Joanne Whalley. He is survived by their two children, Mercedes and Jack.The Associated Press contributed to this report. ...read more read less