Val Kilmer has candidly spoken out about his throat cancer and how it has affected his life, six years after his diagnosis and a life-changing tracheostomy that permanently damaged his vocal cords.
The Top Gun actor stars in the new Amazon Prime documentary Val which is an honest look back at his life and career, as well as featuring home videos and moments of Val bravely opening up on his new limitations; his son Jack, 26, narrates much of the documentary using Val's own words.
At one point, Val admits: "I can't speak without plugging this hole [in his throat]."
WATCH: Trailer for Val on Amazon Prime
He then shares that he now uses a feeding tube, as "you have to make the choice to breathe or to eat".
"It's an obstacle that is very present with whoever sees me," he adds. But he shares that he is "sounding much worse than I feel," and that he has no regrets.
"I have behaved bizarrely to some. I deny none of this and have no regrets because I have lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed," he shared. "I am blessed."
The film is out now
Val told fans of his diagnosis in 2017, after he had previously denied Michael Douglas's claim that he had throat cancer.
During an Ask Me Anything segment on Reddit, the 61-year-old confirmed the news, adding that he thought "Michael was probably trying to help me because the press probably asked where I was these days".
Val will have a small role in the new Top Gun
"I did have a healing of cancer," he added," but my tongue is still swollen although healing all the time. Because I don’t sound like my normal self yet people think I may still be under the weather."
Val is available on Amazon Prime now
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