Batman Forever star Val Kilmer hospitalised for 'complication', not tumour

Actor Val Kilmer, best-known for his roles in Batman Forever and The Doors, said on Saturday he was at a Los Angeles hospital for observation following what he called a "complication". -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Actor Val Kilmer, best-known for his roles in Batman Forever and The Doors, said on Saturday he was at a Los Angeles hospital for observation following what he called a "complication". -- PHOTO: REUTERS

LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - Actor Val Kilmer, best-known for his roles in Batman Forever and The Doors, said on Saturday he was at a Los Angeles hospital for observation following what he called a "complication".

The 55-year-old film and stage star posted on his Facebook page after media reports that he had been rushed to the hospital with a suspected tumour.

"Thank you for all your sweet support," Kilmer said in the Facebook post.

"But I have not had a tumour, or a tumour operation, or any operation. I had a complication where the best way to receive care was to stay under the watchful eye of the UCLA ICU," Kilmer wrote, referring to the intensive care unit of the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center.

Kilmer is undergoing tests, family spokesman Liz Rosenberg said in an email.

Rosenberg had earlier said in a statement that Kilmer was tested for a "possible tumour".

The actor, who has disclosed in previous interviews that he is a Christian Scientist, also said in the message he was assisted by friends who know his "spiritual convictions" and have helped in minimising what he called "gossip and silly talk".

Some Christian Scientists, based on the precepts of their faith, have been known to advocate prayer before or instead of medical treatments when a person is ill.

Kilmer did not disclose any further details about his ailment in the post, but said that he hoped for a speedy recovery. "God bless you all and please don't worry," he wrote.

"I do not have an official diagnosis at this time," Rosenberg said. "He is with his two children Mercedes and Jack," she said.

Kilmer played Doors singer Jim Morrison in a 1991 film about the band and Batman in the 1995 superhero film Batman Forever. In 2013, the actor reunited with Anthony Edwards, his co-star in the 1986 film Top Gun, to give voice to characters in the animated comedy Planes.

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