A filmmaker who once worked with the late actor Val Kilmer has shared a brutal opinion about him, more than a year after his death. Director Adam Marcus called Kilmer the "worst human being" in a now-deleted post on Threads over the weekend.
Director's Harsh Words
Marcus, who directed Kilmer in the 2008 action thriller Conspiracy, took to Threads to express his disdain. He wrote, "#MicroIntellectMonday to that time when I directed that guy. The guy who played Iceman and Doc Holiday [sic]. You know the one." He accompanied the post with a photo of himself and Kilmer, adding, "Here's me and the Putz working it out on the set of Conspiracy."
Addressing fans upset by his negative comments about the late Top Gun star, Marcus reportedly wrote, "And to any of you rolling your eyes because of the whole 'don't speak ill of the dead bullh**', f**k that." He later deleted the post, but not before it was captured by media outlets.
Marcus further claimed that if Kilmer "did one-tenth of what he did on my set today, he would have been cancelled in a blink." He concluded, "Worst human being I've ever known … and that is really saying something."
Kilmer's Role in Conspiracy
In Conspiracy, Kilmer played William "Spooky" MacPherson, a disabled special operations Marine wounded during combat in Iraq. The character visits a friend in the Southwestern United States, only to discover his friend has vanished, with no one acknowledging his existence.
History of Difficult Reputation
Kilmer was previously labeled as difficult to work with. In a 1996 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Batman Forever director Joel Schumacher called Kilmer "childish and impossible" and a "psychologically disturbed human being." John Frankenheimer, director of The Island of Dr. Moreau, vowed never to work with Kilmer again after the 1996 film.
In a 2021 documentary about his life, Kilmer addressed the on-set behavior claims. "I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. I have behaved bizarrely to some," he said. "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."
Kilmer's Death
Val Kilmer died at his home in Los Angeles in April 2025 from pneumonia. He was 65. The Tombstone star had been reportedly bedridden in his final years due to a lack of energy from past cancer treatment.
This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission.
