Jennifer Tilly pays heartfelt tribute to The Doors co-star Val Kilmer

Movie star Jennifer Tilly has taken to social media to pay tribute to Val Kilmer.

Jennifer Tilly has paid a glowing tribute to Val Kilmer.

The ‘Top Gun’ star passed away in Los Angeles on Tuesday (01.04.25), aged 65, and Jennifer has taken to social media to share a story from when she auditioned for ‘The Doors’, the 1991 biographical film that saw Val play music star Jim Morrison.

The 66-year-old actress – who played a groupie called Okie Girl in the Oliver Stone-directed movie, before her scenes were deleted from the final edit – wrote on X: “A long time ago, I was auditioning for the movie “The Doors” It was kind of a cattle call. They paired together potential Jims with potential Pamela‘s. And they were running behind so we were spilling out of the casting office, sitting on the porch, the lawn, and the driveway.

“All of a sudden, a sixties convertible came screeching up, blaring Doors Music at top volume. And a guy jumped out and strode inside: He had wild hair and he was barefoot, shirtless, and wearing nothing but a pair of tight leather pants.

“We all looked at each other like… Who is this guy? We were more than a little shook by the sheer audacity of his entrance. Well of course it was Val Kilmer and from that minute on, nobody else stood a chance.

“Rip King. (sic)”

Val passed away from pneumonia on April 1, with his daughter Mercedes Kilmer confirming the news to the New York Times newspaper.

Mercedes also noted that Val had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, but later recovered from the disease.

The Hollywood actor made his final movie appearance came in 2022’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, where he reprised his role as Iceman, and Val shared an “emotional” moment with co-star Tom Cruise during the film’s shoot.

Tom, 62 – who played Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell in the ‘Top Gun’ film franchise – said on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ back in 2023: “I just want to say that was pretty emotional.

“I’ve known Val for decades, and for him to come back and play that character … he’s such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again.”