Jack Kilmer

{{short description|American actor (born 1995)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Jack Kilmer

| image =Jack Kilmer at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival 02.jpg

| caption = Kilmer in 2025

| birth_name = John Wallace Kilmer

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1995|06|06}}

| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| citizenship = {{hlist|United States|United Kingdom}}

| occupation = Actor

| yearsactive = 2013–present

| father = Val Kilmer

| mother = Joanne Whalley

}}

John Wallace Kilmer (born June 6, 1995) is an American actor. He is known for starring in the 2013 film Palo Alto, for playing Pelle "Dead" Ohlin in the 2018 Norwegian black metal biopic Lords of Chaos, and for playing Ozzy Osbourne in Ozzy's "Under the Graveyard" video. He is also the narrator of Val, a documentary about his father Val Kilmer.

Early life

Kilmer, born on June 6, 1995, to actors Joanne Whalley and Val Kilmer, grew up in Los Angeles and attended primary school at The Center for Early Education, where he met would-be filmmaker Gia Coppola (he was in the first grade; she was in the sixth).{{cite web|url=http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/jack-kilmer#_|title=Jack Kilmer|work=Interview|date=August 2014|first=Molly|last=Creeden|accessdate=August 5, 2014}} He has British citizenship through his mother.

Career

Coppola asked him to review her script for Palo Alto, a film adaptation of James Franco's book of the same name which she also planned to direct. She asked him to advise whether the dialog was an authentic reflection of "kids today".{{cite web|url=http://anthemmagazine.com/jack-kilmer-plays-his-card/|title=Jack Kilmer Plays His Card|first=Kee|last=Chang|date=April 27, 2014|work=Anthem Magazine|accessdate=August 5, 2014}} After he ran through a table read with her, she encouraged him to audition for one of the film's main roles, Teddy. Coppola filmed him as he read through the lines and this became his audition tape; he eventually won the role.{{cite web|url=http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2014/05/jack-kilmer-val-kilmer-palo-alto-interview|date=May 9, 2014|first=Tara|last=Aquino|title=Jack Kilmer Talks Working With Dad Val Kilmer in "Palo Alto"|work=Complex|accessdate=August 5, 2014}} After he was cast as Teddy, his father, actor Val Kilmer, joined the cast as the father of another character. Before filming Palo Alto when he was 16 years old, Kilmer had never acted before, and did not aspire to be an actor.{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/24/jack-kilmer-palo-alto_n_5208258.html|title=Jack Kilmer Talks 'Palo Alto,' His Acting Career And Growing Up With Famous Parents|first=Leigh|last=Blickley|date=April 24, 2014|work=The Huffington Post|accessdate=August 5, 2014}}

The film was released in May 2014 to mostly positive reviews, and Kilmer's performance was described as "formidable", "naturalistic and sincere".{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/09/jack-kilmer-on-his-breakout-role-in-palo-alto-and-life-as-val-kilmer-s-son.html|title=Jack Kilmer on His Breakout Role in 'Palo Alto' and Life as Val Kilmer's Son|work=The Daily Beast|date=May 9, 2014|first=Melissa|last=Leon|accessdate=August 5, 2014}}

Kilmer graduated from high school in 2013. He intended for his acting job on Palo Alto to be a brief project before applying to colleges, but after the film's production he decided to enter acting full-time. In April 2014, he filmed Len and Company with Juno Temple and Rhys Ifans. He played Chet, a young film projectionist who proves vital to the investigation in the 2016 neo-noir crime buddy comedy film The Nice Guys, which was written and directed by Shane Black, who had previously worked with Kilmer's father Val on the 2005 crime buddy comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

In 2014, Kilmer also dipped into the high-fashion modeling world, posing for portraits in Saint Laurent's Permanent Collection, as well as walking the runway in the brand's 2015 spring-summer show. In 2018, Kilmer starred in Jonas Åkerlund's biographical horror/thriller Lords of Chaos as Pelle "Dead" Ohlin, alongside Rory Culkin and Valter Skarsgard.

Kilmer provided extensive narration for the 2021 documentary Val, which details the life of his father. In reviewing the documentary, many critics noted the similarity in voice between Jack and Val as a young man. The film premiered on Amazon Prime on August 6, 2021, following a screening at the Cannes Film Festival.{{Cite web|author=Brian Lowry|title=Val Kilmer leads a tantalizing tour of his life and career in 'Val'|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/23/entertainment/val-review/index.html|access-date=August 8, 2021|website=CNN|date=July 23, 2021 }} Jack was also heard in two episodes of the Disney+ series Willow, providing the voice of Madmartigan, the character played by his father in the original film.

Personal life

Kilmer enjoys surfing and skateboarding. He is a musician, playing guitar and drums, and was previously in a band called Glimmer. Most recently he has served as a touring guitarist with Brion Starr and has released his first solo EP entitled "Archaic Angelic".

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
scope="col"| Year

! scope="col"| Title

! scope="col"| Role

! scope="col"| Notes

2013

| Palo Alto

| Teddy

|

2015

| The Stanford Prison Experiment

| Jim Randall

|

2015

| Len and Company

| Max

|

2016

| The Nice Guys

| Chet

|

2016

| Asphyxia

| James

| Short film

2017

| Woodshock

| Johnny

|

2018

| Lords of Chaos

| Pelle "Dead" Ohlin

| Dead's real name was "Per Yngve Ohlin" but his nickname "Pelle" was used in the film credit.

2018

| Josie

| Marcus

|

2018

| Summer '03

| Luke

|

2018

|Helter Skelter

|

|Short film

2018

| The Pretenders

| Terry

|

2018

| Wobble Palace

| Dayton

|

2019

| Hala

| Jesse

|

2019

|Butcher Boy

|Ian

|Short film

2019

|Carte Blanche

|Robert White

|Short film

2019

|The Follower

|Jimmy Flowers

|Short film

2019

| The Giant

| Will

|

2019

|Margot

|One

|Short film

2020

|Dig

|Caleb

|Short film

2020

|The Man in the Woods

|Hobey Delmore

|Short film

2021

| Body Brokers

| Utah

|

2021

|Hardcore Halbert

|Halbert

|Short film

2021

| Val

| Narrator

| Documentary film

2023

| Detective Knight: Independence

| Dezi

|{{cite web |url=https://collider.com/bruce-willis-detective-knight-trilogy-release-date-trailer-cast-rogue-redemption-independence/ |title=Bruce Willis' 'Detective Knight' Trilogy: Release Date, Trailer, Cast, & Everything We Know So Far |website=Collider |last=P |first=Maddie |date=October 21, 2022 |access-date=October 21, 2022}}

2023

|Dead Man's Hand

|Reno

|

2023

|How the Gringo Stole Christmas

|Leif

|

2025

|Bunnylovr

|

|

=Television=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
scope="col"| Year

! scope="col"| Title

! scope="col"| Role

! scope="col"| Notes

2015

| The Spoils Before Dying

| Tabby Smooth

| 3 episodes

2021

| Immoral Compass

| Zane

| 1 episode

2021

| Law & Order: Organized Crime

| Louis Chinasky

| 3 episodes

2022–2023

| Willow

| Madmartigan

| 2 episodes
Voice role

=Music videos=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
scope="col"| Year

! scope="col"| Artist

! scope="col"| Title

! scope="col"| Notes

2019

| Ozzy Osbourne

| "Under the Graveyard"

| as Ozzy Osbourne

References

{{reflist}}