While chatting with guest Kevin Bacon on her eponymous daytime program, Drew Barrymore fondly reminisced about working with Val Kilmer, who along with director Joel Schumacher, convinced her to star in Batman Forever.
The tender moment came up as The Bondsman star reflected on various old projects of his, including 1990’s Flatliners, which the late Schumacher also helmed. Jumping in to bond with her colleague, Barrymore recalled her own fond experience.
“I was friends with Joel Schumacher, the director, who I thought of this morning because it was he and Val Kilmer that pulled me into Batman Forever,” she said. “And Val Kilmer was so nice to me. He was so nurturing and kind and safe, which was a very important thing for me.” (The 1995 film also starred Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones.)
Bacon chimed in that that was “probably not that common in those days.”
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Barrymore agreed, continuing, “Yeah, I was like, ‘Nobody wants anything from me, they want things for me,’ which I thought was really interesting.”
Later on, Bacon brought up his own work experience with the late Top Gun star, who died last week at the age of 65. The two had co-starred on Broadway in 1983 alongside fellow castmates Sean Penn and Jackie Earle Haley in Slab Boys. “It was great. I just always look at that as one of the great experiences of my life and getting a chance to know him,” he said.
The Juilliard-trained Kilmer — beloved for his wide range as a versatile performer, as well as his genuine personality — died April 1 from pneumonia, after having previously been diagnosed with and recovered from throat cancer, which permanently altered his voice. He was known for his leading turns in films like The Doors, The Saint, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Batman Forever, Tombstone, Thunderheart, Willow and his last credit, Top Gun: Maverick.
The post Drew Barrymore Fondly Remembers Val Kilmer: “So Nurturing And Kind And Safe” appeared first on Deadline.
