The list of Val Kilmer Westerns is a disappointingly short one, but he still showed up in a few gems. The underrated 1990s Neo-Western Thunderheart feels a precursor to Taylor Sheridan movies like Wind River, while Kilmer got to play the title outlaw in Gore Vidal’s Billy the Kid. Of course, Kilmer’s most famous role came with playing Doc Holliday.
Tombstone Is The Best Western Movie Val Kilmer Has Appeared In
The 1990s saw a mini-comeback for Westerns, after the absolute wasteland that was the ’80s. Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven is the most famous, but the ’90s also saw the arrival of Dances with Wolves, The Quick and the Dead and Young Guns II. Over 30 years on, Tombstone is still one of the best Westerns of the 1990s.
It’s easy to understand why, too. This 1993 classic has an endlessly quotable script, a cast that includes Kurt Russell, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, and many, MANY more, and some iconic sequences. Out of the many reasons to love Tombstone, Kilmer’s turn as Doc is top of the list.
He is magnetic in the role, being hilarious, dangerous, and, by the end, totally heartbreaking. It helps that the Western gifts Holliday with a parade of salty one-liners, such as the moment a cowboy claims Doc is so drunk he’s probably “seeing double.” Doc’s response? “I have two guns, one for each of ya.”
Val Kilmer Deserved An Oscar For His Tombstone Performance
Tombstone had a messy production, where the original director was fired and star/producer Kurt Russell had to keep the cash-strapped production on the rails. Some of those compromises Russell was forced to make are visible in the final film, but none of that distracts from the film being a fantastic ride.
That’s why love for Tombstone grows more and more every year. It’s a Western that parents have passed on to their children, and despite its setting, it feels oddly modern. It was little surprise that when Val Kilmer passed in 2025, so many critics and fans immediately singled out his Tombstone turn as his greatest.
The character is so cool, so charming yet utterly tragic, and Kilmer nails each step of his journey. It helps that he has such great chemistry with Russell’s Wyatt Earp, and Doc is the type of friend we all wish we had. The film was totally overlooked during the 1994 Academy Awards, but Kilmer’s work was so deserving of recognition.
It’s the best performance he gave in a career filled with scene-stealing work. It truly says something that in a career where he played Batman, Elvis and Jim Morrison, that Tombstone’s Doc Holliday still stands as his most iconic work.
-
-
- Birthdate
-
December 31, 1959
- Birthplace
-
Los Angeles, California, USA
- Notable Projects
-
Batman Forever, The Prince of Egypt
