# Holy Cow-WHAT Has Val Kilmer Been Up To? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062 "2011-01-01T17:36:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/1 "2011-01-01T17:36:16Z")
I mean, he was lithe and handsome in “Top Gun”-now he looks like Jabba the Hut! He looks terrible? Also, he is in trouble with the IRS (owes $500,000 in back taxes). But, unless he stops eating, he’s going to have a massive heart attack-he is beginning to resemble Marlon Brando in is last days. What caused this train wreck? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/2 "2011-01-01T18:23:36Z")
He stopped being a beautiful 20-something matinee idol. This is, in fact, the normal cycle of aging for most people. Hope you look that good at 51. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/3 "2011-01-01T18:30:39Z")
He’s crazy. Always has been. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/4 "2011-01-01T18:34:42Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > He stopped being a beautiful 20-something matinee idol. This is, in fact, the normal cycle of aging for most people. Hope you look that good at 51. Meh, I don’t think Val Kilmer quite qualifies for aging gracefully. > **[Report: Kilmer owes IRS $500K - UPI.com](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2011/01/01/Report-Kilmer-owes-IRS-500K/UPI-57021293873300/)** > > U.S. actor Val Kilmer owes the Internal Revenue Service nearly $500,000 in unpaid federal taxes, legal documents show. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/5 "2011-01-01T18:40:06Z")
Ew, no, that’s more like the guy at the pool who keeps trying to buy you Cosmopolitans but you don’t want to drink them because your spidey sense says “Roofies!” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/6 "2011-01-01T19:15:34Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Meh, I don’t think Val Kilmer quite qualifies for aging gracefully. While I don’t like the ponytail, he doesn’t look old for a 51-year-old. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/7 "2011-01-01T19:17:18Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > While I don’t like the ponytail, he doesn’t look old for a 51-year-old. Seriously. He has bad hair and a bad suit, but otherwise he looks OK for his age. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/8 "2011-01-01T19:17:31Z")
From the OP’s description, I was expecting much worse. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/9 "2011-01-01T19:54:57Z")
Me too **Drain Bead**. Seriously OP, if that’s your idea of what a human Jabba the Hut looks like, you had best _never venture outside again_. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/10 "2011-01-01T20:10:40Z")
Well, he does look very puffy. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/11 "2011-01-01T20:32:43Z")
obligatory “I’d hit it” post ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/12 "2011-01-01T21:05:18Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > From the OP’s description, I was expecting much worse. Same. I was expecting someone fairly spherical. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/13 "2011-01-01T22:00:39Z")
Just adding to the “Jabba the \*what \*now?” brigade. Not in the first flush of youth, for sure, but not half bad for fifty. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/14 "2011-01-01T22:02:17Z")
I was expecting a lot worse as well. The guy’s 51, and he’s carrying maybe 30 extra pounds around his gut. Like about 75% of the other 51 year-olds in the U.S. He could lose that weight in about 2 months with one of those Hollywood movie-prep trainers. Tom Hanks has been about that size, and he’s back down to his normal fighting weight. DeNiro has jumped up and down by more than 50 lbs during his career. Matt Damon put about that much weight on for a recent movie, and so did George Clooney - and both of them lost the weight again after the shoot. John Travolta goes up and down that much all the time. Brando was over 300 lbs as I recall. Orson Welles was even bigger. Both were lithe and fit all the way into their 30’s or 40’s. Val Kilmer’s not in that league. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/15 "2011-01-01T22:07:09Z")
Well, he had to pack on the pounds to play K.I.T.T. on Knight Rider. 😃 Seriously, I’m 53 and wish I looked that good. ---
**Author:** ![Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zany_Zeolite_Zipper)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/16 "2011-01-01T22:16:08Z")
His IDMB photo shows a lot more weight than the news photo. [See?](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000174/) ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/17 "2011-01-01T22:45:57Z")
Puffy, yes, but in a way that makes me want to pinch his cheeks and stay on his arm at a cocktail party. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/18 "2011-01-01T22:46:38Z")
> [@Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](#): > > His IDMB photo shows a lot more weight than the news photo. [See?](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000174/) Holy shit, that’s the least you could say. I dont like the way he stares at me on this photo. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/19 "2011-01-01T22:55:51Z")
I’d say someone like Alec Baldwin looks good for his age, though much larger than his early acting days. Kilmer looks like he’s on some medication that makes him bloated. Some of the photos on his IMDb page look very puffy, nothing at all like the photo in the taxes article. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062/20 "2011-01-01T23:22:48Z")
> [@Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](#): > > His IDMB photo shows a lot more weight than the news photo. [See?](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000174/) That’s a weird looking photo. He doesn’t look like he’s fat, it looks like he’s playing a fat guy, and the make up artist wasn’t quite up to snuff. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-what-has-val-kilmer-been-up-to/566062.md?page=2)