Maha Christopher
Director Adam Marcus has sparked controversy after describing late Hollywood actor Val Kilmer as the “worst human being” he had ever known, more than a year after the actor’s death.
According to People, Marcus made the remarks on social media while reflecting on his experience directing Kilmer in the 2008 action thriller Conspiracy.
Sharing a photograph from the film set, Marcus wrote, “Here’s me and the Putz working it out on the set of Conspiracy. So yeah, that happened.”
The filmmaker later intensified his criticism, dismissing suggestions that people should refrain from speaking negatively about the deceased.
“And to any of you rolling your eyes because of the whole ‘don’t speak ill of the dead’ bulls—, f— that. If this guy did one-tenth of what he did on my set today, he would have been cancelled in a blink,” Marcus said.
“Worst human being I’ve ever known… and that is really saying something.”
The posts were later deleted.
Marcus’s comments have revived longstanding discussions about Kilmer’s reputation in Hollywood, where several directors previously described him as difficult to work with.
After directing Kilmer in Batman Forever, filmmaker Joel Schumacher reportedly called the actor “childish and impossible” in a 1996 interview.
Similarly, director John Frankenheimer said he would never work with Kilmer again following their collaboration on The Island of Dr. Moreau.
Kilmer addressed some of the criticism during a 2003 interview, arguing that his reputation had often been exaggerated.
“I’ve been careless about how I viewed my business. But I trust that the truth is the truth and a lie is a lie,” he said at the time.
In the 2021 documentary Val, the actor also reflected on his behaviour throughout his career.
“I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. I have behaved bizarrely to some,” Kilmer 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, best known for his roles as Iceman in Top Gun and Doc Holliday in Tombstone, died from pneumonia on April 1, 2025, at the age of 65.
