What Happened To Val Kilmer's Voice? Fans Worried About His Health

Val Kilmer, who will star in the long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick later this year, withdrew from the public eye following a throat cancer diagnosis and two tracheotomies that significantly limited his capacity to express himself vocally. 

Kilmer, one of the top movie stars of the 1980s and 1990s, has teamed up with artificial intelligence company Sonantic to create a version of his speech based on existing footage and recordings of his voice.

The actor confessed that he utilizes a feeding tube in his 2021 documentary, Val. He currently uses a speech box to communicate.

Val Kilmer has been on a health odyssey since being diagnosed with throat cancer more than five years ago. After previously claiming he was ill, the actor revealed his diagnosis in 2017, expressing how his disease has altered his attitude on life.

He had a tracheostomy, which made it impossible for him to talk, in addition to chemotherapy and radiation treatments. He was cancer-free by 2016, but his vocal cords were permanently damaged as a result of his tracheostomy procedure.

Kilmer collaborated with Sonantic on a prototype that created a new voice using archival footage.

Van Kilmer has an estimated net worth of around $25 million. He is one of the most well-known faces in the entertainment sector, and he has built a solid reputation for himself thanks to a large list of film and television credits.

Kilmer's films have grossed approximately $2 billion at the global box office throughout his long career, according to Comscore (SCOR).

He is also the author of I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir, which got released in 2020.