Val Kilmer’s legacy has come under fresh scrutiny after director Adam Marcus publicly blasted the late actor.
Adam Marcus’s Post
In a since-deleted Threads post, the filmmaker accused the Top Gun star of appalling behavior on set.
Marcus, who directed Kilmer in the 2008 action thriller Conspiracy, didn’t hold back as he reflected on their time working together. Kilmer, who died in April 2025 at age 65, played an Iraq War veteran investigating a friend’s disappearance in the film. But according to Marcus, the experience behind the scenes was far from smooth.
In his post, Marcus wrote, “#MicroIntellectMonday to that time when I directed that guy. The guy who played Iceman and Doc Holiday. You know the one. Here’s me and the Putz working it out on the set of Conspiracy.”
He went on to dismiss the idea that people shouldn’t criticize the dead, adding, “And to any of you rolling your eyes because of the whole ‘don’t speak ill of the dead bulls’, f**** that. [If Kilmer] did one‑tenth of what he did on my set today, he would have been cancelled in a blink.”
He brutally concluded, “Worst human being I’ve ever known … and that is really saying something.”
Not the First Criticism
This isn’t the first time Kilmer’s behavior has been criticized by directors. Joel Schumacher, who worked with him on Batman Forever, once described the actor as “childish and impossible.” The Island of Dr. Moreau director John Frankenheimer famously vowed never to collaborate with him again.
Kilmer pushed back against those claims in a 2003 Rolling Stone interview. He said, “I’ve been careless about how I viewed my business. But I trust that the truth is the truth and a lie is a lie… Schumacher’s not a great director by any stretch… his version of me being unstable – he’s very smart, he can’t say anything about work, because then I can sue him for slander.”
He later addressed his complicated reputation in his 2021 documentary Val, admitting, “I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. … behaved bizarrely to some. I deny none of this and have no regrets because I have lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed. And I am blessed.”