A director who worked with Val Kilmer has broken ranks to share a deeply critical account of the late actor, describing him as the “worst human being” he has ever known.
Adam Marcus, who directed Kilmer in the 2008 thriller Conspiracy, posted a lengthy and unsparing account on Facebook on 1 June, just over a year after Kilmer’s death at the age of 65 in April 2025.
Alongside a photo of the two on set, Marcus made a series of serious allegations about the actor’s behaviour during production.
“To any of you rolling your eyes because of the whole ‘don’t speak ill of the dead bulls–t,’ f–k that,” Marcus wrote.
“He was physically violent (kicked me in my crotch on set on day 6 because I would not look at his new Crocs), sexually harassed my female cast, was verbally abusive.”
He went on to allege that Kilmer was under the influence of something every day of shooting, was consistently hours late to set, and arrived on the first day of production in such a state that an ambulance had to be called to administer an IV drip before filming could begin.
“He was paid 1.5 million and acted completely unprofessional,” Marcus continued.
“And this is truly the tip of the iceberg of bad behavior. If this guy did one-tenth of what he did on my set today, he would have been cancelled in a blink. Worst human being I’ve ever known.. and that is really saying something.”
Marcus, who also has credits on Texas Chainsaw and Secret Santa, was clearly anticipating pushback for speaking out about a recently deceased public figure, and addressed it head-on in his post.
His account stands in stark contrast to the tributes paid to Kilmer following his death.
Tom Cruise spoke warmly of his Top Gun co-star at CinemaCon 2025 just days after he passed, calling for a moment of silence and expressing deep admiration.
“I can’t tell you how much I admire his work. How grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick,” Cruise said.
“He loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us.” Cruise went further, comparing Kilmer to early Hollywood pioneer Irving Thalberg.
“This man forged through it all and was able to create epic adventures for global audiences. You are an artist for all time. You are our modern-day Thalberg.”
Two very different portraits of the same man, and no way now to hear his side of it.
