Hollywood actor Val Kilmer has opened up on surviving throat cancer.
Kilmer, 60, was one of the biggest film stars of the 1980s and 90s, appearing in blockbuster movies including Top Gun, Tombstone and Batman Forever.
He confirmed he had been diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and is now recovering from treatment.
Actor Val Kilmer opens up about his battle with cancer and past relationships in new memoir. @ChrisConnelly has the story. https://t.co/8jVW3sLFzp pic.twitter.com/PzmE12EWFo
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 21, 2020
In a rare TV appearance, Kilmer spoke to Good Morning America and opened up on how the disease has affected his life and career, including the impact it has had on his voice.
He now speaks with a raspy voice and said while it sounds like he has a “frog” in his throat, it is actually a “buffalo”.
He told GMA: “I feel a lot better than I sound, but I feel wonderful. I was diagnosed with throat cancer, which healed very quickly.
“This is a tracheotomy to help me breathe, because the glands in my throat swelled up as well.”
When asked what he missed most about his old voice, Kilmer joked: “That I had one! And that I didn’t laugh like a pirate.”
Kilmer, who will reprise his role as Iceman in sequel Top Gun: Maverick, was promoting his memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry, a title inspired by a famous line from Western film Tombstone.
The book will reportedly cover his romances with celebrity figures including Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Cindy Crawford.
“You have to be committed with a woman that’s as dynamic and as committed to their work as someone like Cindy Crawford, who was the number one model on the planet at the time,” Kilmer said.