The Ghost Rider star Nicolas Cage shared his one deep regret after legendary Hollywood actor Val Kilmer’s death.
Reacting to the news of the Top Gun star’s death at the age of 65, Cage paid him a tribute in a statement to Deadline.
“I always liked Val and am sad to hear of his passing,” the Oscar winner expressed his grief. “I thought he was a genius actor. I enjoyed working with him on Bad Lieutenant, and I admired his commitment and sense of humor.”
In addition to raving over the late Batman Forever actor, Cage, 61, confessed one thing that should be done in Kilmer’s life.
“He should have won the Oscar for The Doors,” The Family Man actor weighed in.
Notably, after Kilmer’s breakout role as LT Tom “Iceman” Kazansky opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun, he landed a fantasy film Willow in 1988, followed by his big break as a leading man in The Doors.
It was the 1986 classic that shot Kilmer to fame. However, Jim Morrison’s biopic was also one of Kilmer’s defining roles.
The Oliver Stone-helmed movie became a cult classic in 1991 but didn’t score a single Academy Award nomination that year.
Anthony Hopkis earned the 1991 Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the horror movie The Silence of the Lambs.
Cage’s tribute poured in after filmmaker Michael Mann, who directed Kilmer in Heat, led tributes shortly after the actor was reported dead.
