Val Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes Kilmer is defending the late actor’s AI-generated appearance in the new indie film “As Deep as the Grave.”
Kilmer’s image and likeness were recreated using generative AI for the film, with help from his estate and his daughter. The actor, who passed away in 2025 after battling throat cancer, was scheduled to appear in the historical action film As Deep as the Grave, but was unable to film the role due to poor health. Kilmer, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, partnered with UK-based company Sonantik to create AI-powered voices when he reprized his role as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick.
Mercedes Kilmer appeared on the Today Show and talked about the mixed reactions fans had to her role as an AI-created father.
“It started as a way to overcome the limitations of his illness, but then it evolved into something where he really said, ‘Oh, wait, I actually have a chance to set a precedent,'” she said. “It’s sort of fallen into two camps: people who are probably in a more precarious position in the industry and are worried and see AI as a threat (which is definitely justified) and younger people, young actors, musicians. I’m a musician, and a lot of people I know are very scared of this technology.”
She added, “At the same time, we’ve had a lot of really good responses from people who are older and maybe established in the industry and others who see this technology as a way to protect the intellectual property rights of actors. We have to fight this technology in some way, and avoiding it isn’t necessarily the way to go. When you actively license something, it’s much easier to build rights.”
Corte Voorhees, the writer and director of Deep as the Grave, previously told Variety that Kilmer’s role was “designed around him.”
“I was looking at the call sheet the other day and we were getting him ready to shoot,” he said. “He was going through a really, really tough time medically and he just couldn’t do it.”
“His family kept saying how important this film was and how Val really wanted to be a part of it,” he continued. “He really thought this was an important story that he wanted to put his name on, and that support gave me the confidence to say, ‘OK, let’s do it.'” It may be controversial to some, but this is what Val wanted. ”
“He was always optimistic about emerging technologies as tools to expand the possibilities of storytelling,” Kilmer said in a statement to Variety in March. “That spirit is something we all respect in this particular film, and he was an integral part of that film.”
