“I was in Africa when I got a call from my agent, who had been frantically trying to get ahold of me. He asked me how I’d feel about being the next Batman. I was in shock and disbelief, mostly because I had just been exploring a remote bat-cave and that’s why I was so hard to reach. IT WAS A SIGN.
Every boy dreams of being Batman. Batman is a superhero without any superpowers. Just a normal guy. But he does incredible things using is own intelligence and the amazing gadgets he invents. Every boy dreams of being Batman because it is actually possible to be him. When I was in second grade, our family was invited to the Batman TV Show. To this day, one of my dearest memories is that of my father lifting me into the Batmobile.
By Hollywood standards, Batman is the ultimate leading role and a dream come true. I took the part without even reading the script. But whatever boyish excitement I had going in was crushed by the reality of the Batsuit. When you’re in it you can barley move and people have to help you stand up and sit down. You also can’t hear anything and after a while, people stoop talking to you. IT’S VERY ISOLATING. It was a struggle for me to get a performance past the suit, and it was frustrating until I realized that my role in the film was just to show up and stand where I was told to. [”Actors like Tommy Lee Jones had designed this whole performance, and so had Jim Carrey. It was just so huge. I think it made no difference what I was doing. I tried to be like an actor on a soap opera. The way I would turn to Nicole. Go count how many times I put my hands on my hips. I don’t know how they come up with this style of acting but they seem to go to soap opera school.” - Val]
Batman Forever got mixed reviews but was a commercial success. They wanted to start the next one immediately. I turned it down. I was already committed to The Saint–a remake of a British spy thriller series where I’d get to play a character who dons multiple personalities and disguises. It was like ten roles in one and I wanted to do that more.
Yes, every boy wants to be Batman. They actually want to be him. They don’t necessarily want to play him in a movie.”
VAL KILMER on what it was like playing Batman though narration by his son, JACK in his documentary film VAL (2021)
