Val Kilmer's Children Say He's 'Doing Really Well' amid Release of Actor's New Documentary Val

Jen Juneau
·2 min read
Jack Kilmer, Mercedes Kilmer, Val Kilmer
Jack Kilmer, Mercedes Kilmer, Val Kilmer

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Inset: EuropaNewswire/Gado/Getty Images Jack and Mercedes Kilmer (inset: Val Kilmer)

Val Kilmer's kids are giving an update on their dad's health.

While the 61-year-old actor didn't attend the Los Angeles premiere of his new documentary Val on Tuesday night, his daughter Mercedes told Entertainment Tonight at the event that her father is "doing really well."

"He's seen it probably a thousand times, so we can't control what he does," she added of the documentary.

Said Mercedes' brother Jack, "It's very emotional for him to watch it and we wish he could be here, but he's here in spirit and he's just so proud of this and that people get to see a side of him that has never been seen before."

Kilmer's moving and intimate new Amazon Studios film, which was co-produced by his daughter and son, explores the actor's life, career and recovery from throat cancer.

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Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer

Mike Marsland/WireImage Jack and Mercedes Kilmer

RELATED: Family Bonding! Val Kilmer's Kids Attend Afterparty for Their Dad's Documentary Val

In the first trailer for the film, released in early July, Kilmer shares an intimate look at his life through home movies, which also feature glimpses of a young Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn.

At one point in the trailer, the Top Gun star uses his voice box to communicate how he has "tried to see the world as one piece of life." In another scene, he says, "I'm still recovering and it is difficult to talk and to be understood. But I want to tell my story more than ever."

Kilmer also shared the trailer on Twitter at the time, writing, "It feels like yesterday and yet it has been a lifetime."

"As I write this, my documentary is getting ready to premiere at Festival De Cannes. And as grateful as I am for being selected with this high honor, I look forward most to sharing my life's story with all of you," he wrote.

RELATED VIDEO: Val Kilmer Opens Up for First Time About His Battle with Throat Cancer — and How Cher Helped Him Heal

Mercedes, 29, told ET that it was "really incredible to see the audience recognizing the truth of who" her dad "is kind of for the first time."

"I think we are still — at least I am still trying to — figure it out to see his life narrated in such a way and I am only just really processing how great of a legacy his body of work has," she said.

Jack, 26, described their father as "such a creative" and "eccentric person," with "a lot of energy and such a lust for life."

"He just loves life so much and he loves creating things and he loves movies and he loves everything," Jack added in his comments to ET. "He's just one of the best listeners and the most interesting people I've ever met."

Val is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video Friday.

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