Val Kilmer tells the story of his own life — including his recovery from cancer — in the upcoming documentary "Val."
The "Top Gun" and "Batman Forever" star was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015. During treatment, he underwent a tracheotomy that affects his ability to speak.
In the new documentary, the 61-year-old actor, who initially kept his diagnosis a secret, uses a voice box to talk. He also shares four decades' worth of personal home videos to tell the story of his "magical life."
In a new trailer for the film, released Tuesday, Kilmer says in a voice-over, "I was recently diagnosed with throat cancer. I'm still recovering, and it is difficult to talk and to be understood."
After viewers see footage of Kilmer in an array of blockbuster movies, the "Tombstone" star appears on camera using the voice box device to speak. "I've tried to see the world as one piece of life," he says.
The Amazon Studios documentary, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo, relies on footage that Kilmer, an early adopter of video cameras, shot both at home and behind the scenes on his many acting projects.
One scene in the trailer finds a young Kilmer filming himself and co-stars Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn as they chat backstage during the 1983 run of the trio's Broadway flop "Slab Boys."
Kilmer expressed his excitement about the documentary Tuesday on Twitter.
"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.
"Val” hits theaters on July 23, and begins streaming August 6 on Amazon Prime Video.