Actor Val Kilmer talks about surviving throat cancer

Hollywood actor Val Kilmer has spoken about surviving throat cancer.

Kilmer, 60, was one of the biggest movie stars of the 1980s and ’90s, appearing in blockbuster films such as “Top Gun,” “Tombstone” and “Batman Forever.”

He confirmed that he was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and is now recovering from treatment.

In a rare television appearance, Kilmer spoke to Good Morning America and discussed how the disease has affected his life and career, including the impact on his voice.

He now speaks in a croaking voice and says that although it sounds like he has a “frog” in his throat, it is actually a “buffalo”.

He told GMA: “I’m doing a lot better than it sounds, but I feel wonderful. I was diagnosed with throat cancer, which healed very quickly.

“This is a tracheotomy to make it easier for me to breathe because the glands in my neck are also swollen.”

When asked what he misses most about his old voice, Kilmer joked: “That I had one! And that I didn’t laugh like a pirate.”

Kilmer, who reprises his role as Iceman in the sequel Top Gun: Maverick, was promoting his memoir “I’m Your Huckleberry,” the title of which is inspired by a famous line from the western film “Tombstone.”

The book is said to cover his romances with celebrities such as Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Cindy Crawford.

“You have to get involved with a woman who is as dynamic and as dedicated to her work as someone like Cindy Crawford, who was the number one model on the planet at the time,” Kilmer said.