Actor Val Kilmer is battling cancer and ‘things don’t look good’, says friend Michael Douglas

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Val Kilmer at a press conference for the movie Twixt in 2011, during the Toronto International Film Festival. Kilmer was said by friend Michael Douglas to be battling cancer. Photo: EPA

Published: 3:15pm, 1 Nov 2016Updated: 5:08pm, 22 Nov 2016

Michael Douglas ended months of speculation over fellow actor Val Kilmer’s health on Monday by confirming his friend was suffering from cancer, several reports said on Monday.

Douglas reportedly told the audience at an event in London over the weekend that Kilmer, his co-star in 1996’s The Ghost and the Darkness, is “dealing with exactly what I had”, referring to oral cancer.

He added that “things don’t look too good” for the 56-year-old, best known for his role in Top Gun and as singer Jim Morrison in “The Doors.”

“My prayers are with him. That’s why you haven’t heard too much from Val lately,” Douglas, 72, told host Jonathan Ross, according to the London-based Daily Telegraph newspaper and US entertainment industry bible Variety.

Val Kilmer (left) and Tom Cruise in a scene from Top Gun, the 1986 film that helped confirm both as stars. Photo: Alamy

Kilmer has repeatedly denied reports that he is unwell, but his health has been the subject of persistent speculation since pictures showed him apparently with a tracheotomy tube last year.

Kilmer’s representatives did not respond immediately to a request for comment.