“I absolutely love the guy”: The icon Val Kilmer called “the greatest American poet”
Throughout his career, Val Kilmer has established himself as a serious player in the history of modern Hollywood. From his early efforts in the likes of the comedy movie Real Genius and the action Top Gun right onto his efforts as Batman in Joel Schumacher’s 1995 movie and Oliver Stone’s Heat, Kilmer has also possessed a remarkable pedigree as an actor.
Of course, it’s hard to think of Kilmer and not immediately conjure up the iconic images of him playing the singer of The Doors, Jim Morrison, in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic, where Kilmer not only bore a striking resemblance to the enigmatic musician and poet but delivered his emotional and conceptual nuances as well.
As a genuine Hollywood hero, it’s no surprise to learn that Kilmer has rubbed shoulders with many of the most notable figures in the entertainment industry. Of course, he’s come into contact with his co-stars like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Kyle MacLachlan, but Kilmer also managed to meet one of his heroes, a true icon of music.
In an interview with The Guardian, Kilmer once admitted that he loves to name-drop, but few people that he has met left quite an impression on him as Bob Dylan, who he proceeded to call the “greatest American poet alive”. According to the actor, Dylan had walked into a Carrie Fisher pre-Oscar party when Kilmer had been mid-way through playing Jim Morrison.
He admitted that it’s hard to “hang it with someone that makes people faint”, so when Kilmer was afforded the opportunity to meet the guy he “absolutely loves”, he “took some chances”. It’s absolutely fair for Kilmer to have been blown away by Dylan; so far-reaching is his cultural legacy and star power.
“He’s such a genius about everything,” Kilmer gushed about Dylan. “And such an imp. Maybe that’s what he likes in me. The moment the two met at the party, Kilmer had channelled his inner Jim Morrison, explaining, “It’s like someone has dosed you … Suddenly you are raging like you’re Hunter S Thompson inside.”
Imagining “Jim-like thoughts”, Kilmer took his chance to meet the legendary musician and poet with both hands. Speaking to Daniel Day-Lewis at the time, Kilmer used his “Morrison-inspired bravado” and shouted over to Dylan, “‘Hey Bobbbbbb! Are you an Yma Sumac fan?’ Like that old EF Hutton commercial.”
The party turned to Dylan in a moment of silence, and Dylan obliged with, “Yeees I am”, allowing for the ice to be broken between the actor and the musician. Dylan later expresses his love for Kilmer’s 1993 western movie Tombstone, directed by George O. Cosmatos and starring Kurt Russell and Sam Elliott.
Kilmer would again take his opportunity to meet Dylan when they were both in New York City at the same time. When Kilmer’s friend arranged a meet between the two, Kilmer was “real excited, like a crazy fan, like a child.” The two ended up meeting up “like old friends”, but Dylan appeared to want to talk about Tombstone.
The actor essentially rejected Dylan’s love for the western movie and later regretted not at least performing a handful of lines from the film. “I felt like an idiot afterwards. I could have said a few lines. I felt so bad about it.” Still, Dylan actually owns a piece of Kilmer’s original artwork, so no bad blood was split between the two.