Val Kilmer on a life in illusion and the new doc 'Val'

Val Kilmer was in movies he wasn’t in

CANNES, France -- Val Kilmer was in movies he wasn’t in. The new documentary “Val,” bursting with footage Kilmer shot himself over his 61 years, includes home videos and backstage glimpses, as you might expect. But the most remarkable thing is seeing Kilmer’s own audition tapes of himself. It’s not just a few scenes here and there. They capture Kilmer living in parts — including some he never got to (officially) play. There’s footage of him as Henry Hill in “Goodfellas.” Hamlet he privately tackled for years. He was so consumed with being in Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket” that Kilmer had a friend shoot him, in combat gear, trudging through a California swamp. In another clip, he shoots live rounds in the backyard. “I’m a firm believer in magical realism ON and OFF the screen,” said Kilmer in an interview over email. “The transformation and/or manifestation of each character is really just PRAYER."