Val Kilmer gives Today interview after tracheotomy - NEWS.com.au

Not even a tracheotomy can keep Val Kilmer down.

After the actor was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015, he was treated with chemotherapy, radiation and a tracheotomy to help him breathe.

Kilmer, 60, recently appeared on the US Today show, where he dished on his health.

“I’m doing great,” he shared, as subtitles appeared on screen to translate. “I feel a lot better than I sound.”

The star is back at work and will appear in the upcoming movie Paydirt.

While he’s played a number of iconic characters, things are a bit different for him on-set these days after the procedure.

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“It’s just like any other language or dialect,” the Doors actor said. “You have to figure out a way to communicate that’s no different than any other acting challenge but it’s just a very unique set of circumstances.”

Kilmer’s 28-year-old daughter, Mercedes, also appears in the film, playing his daughter in her feature film debut. She previously only appeared in a number of short films, according to IMDB.

“I was just proud like her graduation day,” Kilmer gushed.

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“Playing his daughter was so trippy and perfect,” Mercedes said. “I’m so proud to have been in this film and to have worked on this film, like, not just because my dad is my actual dad, but because, I know you don’t really lead with this, but you do have now a disability with your voice, and it really meant a lot to me to be able to be involved in this film that centres a disabled actor, or an actor with a disability.”

Mercedes is also the daughter of actress Joanne Whalley, who was married to Kilmer from 1988-1996. Additionally, Kilmer and Whalley share a son Jack, who is an actor, as well.

RELATED: Why Val Kilmer didn’t want to star in Top Gun

Of course, Mercedes is subject to T op Gun talk from fans of the film, as her father played Iceman, the nemesis of Tom Cruise’s Maverick.

“It comes up when other people bring it up at me,” said Mercedes of Iceman jokes. “I actually didn’t even know what that was in reference to for a long time.”

Kilmer will also reprise his role in the upcoming sequel to the hit flick, Top Gun: Maverick.

“When we met, they didn’t know how I sounded … but I had a suggestion, which would be one of the only ways the character could be portrayed” the actor said of the second instalment.

As for what Kilmer could reveal about the upcoming movie or his role? “Absolutely nothing,” he said.

“All I can tell you about the film is that my hair is not this length,” he teased. “Iceman has not become Ice-monk.”

Watch Val and Mercedes’ interview in full below:

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission.

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2020-08-04 10:13:53Z
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