MOVIES

Val Kilmer's biggest role

Fatherhood reveals a kinder, gentler side to a reputed bad-boy.

By Kevin Maynard

It's hard to know what to expect from Val Kilmer, whose new movie, "Déjà Vu," a suspense thriller starring Denzel Washington, opens Wednesday.

Known for playing legendary figures from Doc Holliday to Jim Morrison, Kilmer once was labeled one of Hollywood's most difficult leading men. He has butted heads with directors and made tabloid headlines for romancing everyone from Cher to Cindy Crawford.

On this day, however, Kilmer is relaxed, open. He has rented a sprawling beach house in exclusive Malibu, Calif., and is watching his son, Jack, 11, surf the Pacific Ocean.

We head into the kitchen to talk, and soon Jack appears, dripping wet. "God, you're handsome," exclaims Kilmer in mock-heroics. Tan if not as trim as in his "Top Gun" days, the 46-year-old actor is clad in a Panama shirt and board shorts. "I'm so glad I made you! I get to take credit for your very face!" Jack rolls his eyes appropriately in response. It's clear that Kilmer considers his greatest role being dad to his two kids: Jack and daughter Mercedes, 15, both with his ex-wife, actress Joanne Whalley. "Their mom is really tough on them about school," he says, "which I'm thrilled about because I get to be the fun parent."

Almost on cue, Kilmer addresses his son. "Did you grab a burger, dude?" he asks the boy, who is wearing a black T-shirt that proudly declares "Anti-Bling" on the front. Before Jack can respond, a beach mutt runs into the living room. "He's my neighbor's," Kilmer says. "But we've adopted him as our own. He's looking for a tennis ball or a taco -- or both."

This kind of friendly chaos seems to be par for the course at Casa Kilmer. Just a few feet away in the living room sit a couple of surfboards, a kayak, stacks of CDs and DVDs, a guitar and two amps. The conversation leaps easily from post-9/11 America to movie projects to his latest crush, actress Shannyn Sossamon (although he is rumored to be dating Herbalife queen Suzan Hughes), to his storied past.

"It's like a big, bad dream," he says of his reputation for being difficult. "If those horrible accusations were true, that guy probably would not have much of a sense of humor. But that's not me." He's ready, he says, to lighten up and do more comedy.

"I just want to do a picture with [George] Clooney and Michael Keaton as over-the-hill Batmen," he says, riffing on his 1995 turn as the Caped Crusader. "Wouldn't that be good, Jack?"

His son looks at Kilmer again like he's crazy. "Yeah," Dad responds with a wink, looking out to sea. "You're probably right."