Actor and Cancer Survivor Val Kilmer, 64, Says His ‘One Career Regret’ is Not Defining His Own Character ‘Identity’

Discovering Your Sense of Self Along Your Journey

• Actor Val Kilmer, 64, has had a long and successful acting career. However, the Top Gun actor feels he should have been more intentional about developing a distinct identity as an actor like some of his peers.
• Kilmer’s acting career was impacted when he was diagnosed with throat cancer after discovering a lump in his throat and coughing up blood.
• For treatment, Kilmer underwent a tracheotomy (surgery that creates an opening in the neck for a tube to be inserted into the windpipe, helping him breathe). He also received chemotherapy.

Actor Val Kilmer, 64, perhaps best known for his role as Lieutenant Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in the 1986 movie Top Gun , is reflecting on his career decades later. The actor notes one long-time regret he’s lived with regarding the roles he took on. “I actually regret not having created a character years ago like all my wise contemporaries,” Kilmer shared with Vanity Fair.

“Talents like Johnny Depp, Nic Cage, and Sean Penn, everyone has a pretty solid identity. When I say each of these [names], you have a very instant opinion about a particular type of character,” Kilmer explained. “Tom Hanks…made very specific choices in and around some of his wonderful, often winning performances,” Kilmer added. The actor said that early in his career, he viewed his acting roles differently. Rather than building a Hollywood persona, Kilmer was solely focused on the roles he was tasked with playing at any given time.

“I have been unconventional, to say the least, in pursuing my interests, especially lately. Because when you’re out of the spotlight, you just have to wait in line or do things that don’t take as much time as shooting a big movie," Kilmer said. Kilmer added that he had to exert considerable effort to gain traction in a crowded entertainment field now that his starring roles were less frequent.

Expert Resources on HPV

• Busting the Myths About the HPV Vaccine
• A Reminder About HPV-Linked Cancers From Survivor & ‘Desperate Housewives’ Actress Marcia Cross
• Breaking: HPV Vaccine Not Recommended For Adults Over 26, Per New American Cancer Society Guidelines
• A Major New Effort Announced to Vaccinate Young Boys Against HPV and Cancers Linked to Sex

“I have to work hard on my small, modest influence to sell 1,600 tickets, whereas if I had starred in a big action movie last year, it wouldn’t be on my priority list,” Kilmer explained. Nowadays, Kilmer has evolved his identity to include other artistry. He often shares pieces he's created on his social media channels.

An Artist and Cancer Survivor

Kilmer’s public identity may be less conventional than other Hollywood A-listers, but he’s also a cancer survivor filled with hope and inspiration. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 after discovering a lump in his throat. Although he did not immediately go to the doctor to get checked out, waking up in a pool of blood was the last bit of motivation he needed to go to the hospital. Throat cancer is cancer that develops in your throat or voice box.

“[Throat] cancer can cause symptoms in the throat including sore throat, pain with swallowing, difficulty swallowing, the sensation of a lump or mass in the throat, ear pain, and less commonly voice changes, hoarseness or difficulty opening the jaw,” Dr. Ryan Hughes , a radiation oncologist at Wake Forest School of Medicine, told SurvivorNet. “In the majority of patients, [throat cancer] does not cause symptoms in the throat but instead first presents with an otherwise asymptomatic mass in the neck,” Dr. Hughes added. Kilmer underwent chemotherapy to help treat the cancer. He also underwent a tracheotomy procedure, which had an impact on his ability to speak. This procedure connects the windpipe to a hole in the front of your neck. Interestingly, the actor continued working on production projects using artificial intelligence technology despite the tracheotomy’s impact on his voice. Sonantic created the technology, which used samples of Kilmer speaking to recreate his speech patterns.

Since undergoing treatment for throat cancer, Kilmer said in his memoir that he has healed.

Oral Cancers are Commonly Linked to HPV

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is “a group of more than 200 related viruses, some of which are spread through vaginal, anal or oral sex,” the National Cancer Institute says. HPV infection is linked to multiple cancers, and the majority of sexually active people will get the disease at some point in their lives. Although nearly all cases of cervical cancer are indeed caused by HPV, people should also be aware that HPV puts both men and women at risk of developing several other cancers, such as oral cancer and cancers of the vagina, penis, anus, and throat. Overall, HPV is believed to be the cause of 90% of anal and cervical cancers, approximately 70% of vaginal and vulvar cancers, and 60% of penile cancers. WATCH: HPV’s link to cancer.

Protecting Against HPV

Nearly 80 million Americans have HPV today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It impacts men and women and won’t cause problems for most people. However, in a small percentage of cases, it can lead to cancer. The HPV vaccine is recommended to protect against HPV and, therefore, HPV-related cancers. Gardasil 9 is an HPV vaccine that offers protection against “nine HPV types: the two low-risk HPV types that cause most genital warts, plus seven high-risk HPV types that cause most HPV-related cancer,” according to the National Cancer Institute. The vaccine creates an immune response to HPV 16, the primary cause of 92% of head and neck cancers. Once children are vaccinated, they cannot be infected with that strain. For parents, the HPV vaccine enables them to protect their children from developing cancer in the future. The key to the vaccine is that you receive it before you become sexually active; hence, the vaccines are approved for children as young as nine years old. According to the CDC, the HPV vaccine is recommended for all male and female preteens 11 to 12 years old, and it is given in two doses between six and 12 months. The CDC also notes that teens and young adults through age 26 who didn’t start or finish the HPV vaccine series also need the vaccine. Additionally, people with weakened immune systems or teens and young adults who started the series between 15 and 26 should get three doses instead of two. Although adults up to 45 can still receive the vaccine, it’s not recommended for everyone older than 26.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

If you are concerned about your cancer risk related to the human papillomavirus or whether HPV caused the cancer you have, you can use one of the conversation starters below when talking with your doctor:

• I am unsure if I received the HPV vaccine when I was younger. Should I get it now?
• If I experience symptoms that could be because of HPV, what tests can I undergo to know for sure?
• How can I know if HPV caused the cancer I have?