I would argue that Val Kilmer's role as Doc Holliday in Tombstone was the best of his career. I toss and turn between that and his role in Michael Mann's Heat (1995) as Chris Shiherlis. Kilmer excels in tapping into a very physical and emotional intensity that makes his characters so tangible. But I reckon it's his work alongside Kurt Russell's Wyatt Earp that shines the brightest, acting as a guardian angel of sorts. The pair clearly got close when working on the iconic Western together, evident in their chemistry. Apparently, they were close enough, to the point they exchanged gifts by the end of it all.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Back in January 2024, Kurt sat down with GQ to discuss his most iconic film roles. Around the midway mark, he speaks swimmingly of Val Kilmer and his work on Tombstone. Moreover, he recalls a time when it was highly encouraged to exchange gifts with actors on set. "If you're asking me if it was great working with Val Kilmer, who played Doc Holliday on Tombstone, the answer is absolutely," Kurt says firmly.
Kurt Russell Recalls The Gifts He Exchanged With Val Kilmer After Tombstone
"In those days, especially when you were working with people, sometimes at the end of the show you'd get them gifts or trade gifts," Russell adds. "It's not mandatory, it's not something that you gotta do or that they've gotta do."
Consequently, Kurt requests his driver to "get a hold of Val's holster, gun, hat and chair with his name on the back and take a picture." Then, Russell says he gave Kilmer a burial plot in the Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona. The allure there is that the cemetery holds different iconic outlaws of Old Western history. Given the nature of Doc Holliday as a character, it's extremely fitting.
However, Val goes one further and buys Russell an acre of land that overlooks that exact graveyard. Kurt explains the thematic beauty of the film and their characters. Even though it's a bit stark, it highlights how they both understood what they worked on together. "Doc Holliday was all about death, but Wyatt's all about life," Russell chuckles. "I guess that pretty much says it all."
