Director and screenwriter Adam Marcus sparked controversy after harshly criticizing late actor Val Kilmer in a social media post. Marcus, who worked with Kilmer on the thriller Conspiracy, described the actor as the “worst human being” he had ever met.
In a message posted on Threads and later deleted, the filmmaker shared a photo of the two during filming and said that if Kilmer had behaved the same way today, he “would be canceled in the blink of an eye.”
Marcus did not detail which actions prompted his criticism, but made it clear that his experience working with the actor was extremely negative. “Worst human being I have ever known… and that is really saying something,” he wrote.
The remarks come just over a year after Kilmer’s death. The actor died in April 2025, at the age of 65. He was known for memorable roles in Top Gun, Batman Forever and Tombstone, but he also developed a reputation throughout his career for being difficult to work with behind the scenes.
Marcus is not the first director to criticize Kilmer’s behavior. In the past, Joel Schumacher and John Frankenheimer also made public comments about difficulties they faced while working with the actor.
Kilmer himself addressed this reputation in interviews, in his autobiography and in the documentary Val. In the production, he acknowledged having behaved inappropriately at some points in his career, but said he did not regret the experiences that shaped his personal and professional journey.
“I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. I have behaved bizarrely to some. 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 said.
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Photo: Creative Commons. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
