Tom Hiddleston has identified a Val Kilmer movie role that he believes could be the defining “cinema” performance. There is little argument that Val Kilmer has been considered a Hollywood legend for quite some time, but it feels like appreciation for the actor is only growing as the years go by. Whether it’s his powerful Top Gun: Maverick cameo, the renewed appreciation for his 1993 Western movie, Tombstone, or the undercurrent of praise for Batman Forever as an underrated superhero movie, more and more movie fans are discovering the genius of Val Kilmer’s work.

One such movie fan is Tom Hiddleston. Best known for his long-running role as Loki, Hiddleston’s next release is The Life of Chuck, adapted from a Stephen King novel by writer and director Mark Flanagan. Hiddleston appears alongside fellow MCU star Chiwetel Ejiofor, fellow MCU star Karen Gillan, and fellow MCU star Carl Lumbly in a story that starts at the end of Chuck’s life and works its way backward.

Tom Hiddleston Hails Val Kilmer In Heat As “THE Great Cinema Performance”

A Well-Deserved Shout-Out For Val Kilmer

In promotion for The Life of Chuck, Tom Hiddleston spoke with Letterboxd as part of its “Four Favorites” series, naming a quartet of his favorite movies. In doing so, Hiddleston offered Michael Mann’s Heat as one of his picks, praising the 1995 effort’s director and cast for being at the top of their respective games. Despite the presence of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, however, Hiddleston reserved a special mention for Val Kilmer, dubbing his work in Heat as “maybe THE great cinema performance.”

This is far from the first time Kilmer’s contribution to Heat has been singled out as having wider significance for the movie industry. Michael Mann previously revealed that Kilmer’s handling of a firearm during Heat‘s intense shootout scenes proved so authentic, the footage has since been used for real-world training. As well as Kilmer’s own director singing his praises, the exact same scene has also been championed by firearms experts for its impressive realism.

Our Take On Tom Hiddleston’s Praise For Val Kilmer’s Heat Performance

Kilmer Was Cinema

Exactly what Tom Hiddleston means by “THE great cinema performance” remains open to interpretation. It doesn’t appear that the MCU actor is calling Heat‘s Chris Shiherlis the greatest performance in movie history, nor the greatest performance to ever grace a cinema screen. If, however, you take “cinema” as meaning studio-fronted, mainstream, cinematic releases starring big-name actors, then Val Kilmer’s Heat role is certainly up there as being among the best.

From the intensity he brings to Shiherlis’ persona to the unique brand of fidelity and dedication he injects into the action sequences, Kilmer elevates the various cinematic elements of Heat as a movie. More broadly, Hiddleston’s comments continue the welcome trend of Val Kilmer’s legend continuing to grow – something that was already becoming evident before the actor sadly pᴀssed away earlier in 2025.

Kilmer’s body of work stands as a timeless testament to his talent, and as contemporary actors like Tom Hiddleston keep citing Kilmer as an icon in their field, new generations will find themselves discovering what movie fans who witnessed the likes of Heat and Tombstone in the ’90s already know.

Source: Letterboxd