Val Kilmer's daughter defends AI performance, says actor wanted to set precedent for licensing

Val Kilmer's Daughter Defends Posthumous AI-Generated Performance

Mercedes Kilmer, daughter of the late Val Kilmer, has stepped into the center of the Hollywood AI debate by defending her father's posthumous AI-generated performance in the upcoming film As Deep as the Grave1

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. Speaking on TODAY on April 29, the 34-year-old explained that her father "wanted to do this" to create "structures for actors to own their licensing and to have rights." Val Kilmer died at 65 from pneumonia in April 2025 after spending a decade battling throat cancer that robbed him of his voice4

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. The star of Top Gun, "The Doors," and "Tombstone" appears in the film as Father Fintan, a priest and Native American spiritualist, created entirely through generative AI using recordings of his voice, archival footage, and family photos.

Setting a Legal Precedent for Actors' Rights and AI Technology

Mercedes Kilmer emphasized that her father was "very passionate that this is the time, before these laws are written, to make sure that there's a structure for compensation, to make sure that actors get paid on par with what they would get paid if they were physically doing it." She described the project as "a really historic precedent" that began as a way to overcome the limitations of his illness but evolved into something more significant1

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. Val Kilmer was initially offered the role in 2018, but the project stalled when the COVID pandemic began in 2020. He knew his health issues would prevent him from physically acting but wanted to remain involved4

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. The filmmakers followed SAG-AFTRA's guidelines for "consent, compensation and collaboration," according to producer John Voorhees, who told Entertainment Tonight that "this is a character Val wanted to play. He was really clear about that before he passed."

AI Licensing and Rights at the Center of Hollywood Divide

The decision to recreate voice and likeness using AI has intensified the Hollywood AI debate, dividing the industry into distinct camps. Mercedes Kilmer acknowledged receiving "some negative comments," noting the response "has kind of fallen into two camps -- people that maybe have a more precarious position in the industry are worried and see AI as a threat, which is absolutely valid. Younger actors and musicians -- I'm a musician and a lot of people I know, we're so scared of this technology"1

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. However, she also received positive responses from more established industry figures who view it as a way to protect intellectual property and ownership. "We have to contend with this technology one way or another and avoiding it is not necessarily the way. It's much easier to structure the rights if you proactively license," she explained3

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Ethical Considerations and Creative Possibilities

Mercedes Kilmer highlighted what she views as ethical considerations in the film's use of AI technology. The character speaks 1920s Navajo language, "which is a language that they were able to sort of recover for the film, which is I think like a really ethical, interesting use of the technology," she said. "If we're going to have this, we can make things that expand the possibilities of what we can do as humans, not replace them"4

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. When asked about future use of her father's likeness, she clarified that the family wouldn't "just put his likeness in something without his permission, necessarily," though she mentioned potential creative possibilities like video games based on his famous characters. This approach addresses concerns about deceased actors and how their estates might handle AI licensing and rights.

Industry Implications and Job Displacement Concerns

The case raises questions about fair compensation and job displacement as Hollywood grapples with AI technology's expanding role. Writer and director Coerte Voorhees told Variety in March that "Kilmer was the actor I wanted to play this role. It was very much designed around him. It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest"2

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. The film, which stars Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, and Abigail Breslin, tells the story of North America's first female archeologist Ann Morris and her work in the 1920s. Val Kilmer's AI performance isn't the first digital recreation in Hollywood -- James Earl Jones allowed AI technology to replicate Darth Vader's voice, Carrie Fisher was digitally resurrected in two Star Wars movies, and Harrison Ford was de-aged in the recent Indiana Jones film1

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. Mercedes Kilmer noted that this project gives the family a framework to protect intellectual property if someone uses his likeness unauthorized in the future, saying "this is what you're supposed to do." As Deep as the Grave is set to release later this year, potentially establishing a legal precedent that could shape how the industry handles AI performances of deceased actors.