Niamh Shackleton
Val Kilmer shared his final post to Instagram just weeks before his death.
The Top Gun and Batman Forever alum died yesterday (April 1) from pneumonia at the age of 65.
Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and later recovered after undergoing treatment for the illness, as well as a tracheostomy which caused damage to the actor's vocal cords.
With his illness in mind, Kilmer moved away from the film industry and began to channel his creativity into art instead.
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His last movie credit was in Top Gun: Maverick, which was released in 2022, where Kilmer reprised his role of the infamous Iceman.
With his love of art becoming Kilmer's main artist outlet in his final years, much of his Instagram page paid homage to this.
His final post what was a photo of one of his paintings. Alongside the snap, Kilmer wrote: "It’s got that late-night glow. Cool tones with a low burn, like when the camp fire cools down but you’re still wide awake."
Kilmer went on to share the size of the piece and directed people to his website if they wished to purchase it.
The post was shared on March 22, just a couple of weeks before his passing.
His last post with him in it was shared on February 23 where he was seen with fellow artist, musician, and Beef actor David Choe.
In the first video that was part of the post, Kilmer showed Choe before propping his phone up and putting on a modern-looking Batman mask.
"It's been a while," the actor quipped to Choe before putting it on.
He then proceeded to show some Batman artwork. It's thought that Choe was the artist behind it.
On Kilmer's website, in a first-person blog the late actor explained why he turned more of his attention to art.
The piece, published April 2022, read: "My name is Val Kilmer. I'm an artist. I've lived a magical life.
"For more than half a century, I have been honing my art, no matter the medium. Be it literature, movies, poetry, painting, music, or tracking exotic and beautiful wildlife in the most remote African bush, to capture ephemeral moments with a camera, I yearn to express my creative spirit."
Kilmer went on to say that as a result of his vocal cords being damaged from his cancer treatment he was 'not able to be out in the world the same way I had become accustomed'.
With this in mind his 'creative juices were boiling over' and so he started painting again.
"I felt the art healing me," Kilmer went on to write.