40+ Photos to Justify Your Decades-Long Val Kilmer Crush

I spent many hours of my youth watching Top Gun [1] — specifically, the volleyball scene, which was probably the first indication that I was into dudes. While many Top Gun viewers lusted after Tom Cruise [2]'s Maverick character (who, I'll admit, also filled out his jeans quite nicely), I always crushed harder on Val Kilmer, who played Iceman [3].

After that, I set out to familiarize myself with Kilmer's entire film catalog, starting with his role as a teen heartthrob in the comedy Top Secret. My crush deeply intensified at age 13, when Kilmer transformed himself to play Jim Morrison in The Doors, and I continued to admire his acting and his unconventional choice of roles over the years. (Side note: how hot is the name Val Kilmer?)

Sadly, 57-year-old Kilmer has been out of the public eye for a while; he acknowledged his battle with throat cancer [4] publicly for the first time in May 2017. But he recently resurfaced to reassure fans that he's "still got it" [5] should he be called up for the Top Gun sequel [6].

I've taken this as an opportunity to take a walk down memory lane with 40+ photos of Val Kilmer to remind myself that my decades-long crush is completely justified.