Will Forte has reflected on his friendship with the late Val Kilmer – and a quirky missed opportunity that remains one of his biggest regrets.
In a heartfelt essay for Vulture, the Saturday Night Live alum opened up about the close bond he formed with Kilmer following their time together on MacGruber, the 2010 action-comedy based on the recurring SNL sketch. Forte recalled that casting Kilmer as the villain, Dieter Von Cunth, had once seemed unlikely, calling himself a “huge fan” who never expected the Top Gun star to sign on. But when Kilmer agreed, the pair quickly hit it off—and even became temporary roommates.
Kilmer had been moving out of his Malibu home and needed a place to stay. Forte offered up his own, and what followed was a three-month stint of unexpected domesticity and shared pop culture obsessions—most notably, The Amazing Race.
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Forte wrote, “Then, at a certain point, he said, ‘Will, you and I have to go do The Amazing Race. We have to. Let’s do The Amazing Race.’ I’m like, ‘I am so fully in.’ We got really excited about it, and then we called our respective agents and managers, and they were like, ‘There’s no way you guys are doing that.’”
The comedian said the dream ended there, but the idea stuck with him.
“That is, maybe to this day, the biggest regret of my whole career — that I never did The Amazing Race with Val,” Forte admitted. “I think we would’ve gotten out very quickly, but it just would’ve been the experience of a lifetime.”
In the same tribute, Forte recalled Kilmer’s initial dismissal of the show, saying, “What are you watching that garbage for? Come on, that stuff’s going to rot your mind,” before gradually becoming an enthusiastic viewer himself.
Kilmer passed away last week at the age of 65 due to pneumonia. He had previously overcome throat cancer, a battle that permanently affected his voice. The actor left behind a legacy of varied and memorable roles, from The Doors and Tombstone to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Willow, and his final appearance in Top Gun: Maverick.
Forte closed his tribute with a bittersweet reflection: “Somehow, we lucked into getting him to do MacGruber, but I didn’t know if I was going to get that lucky to get to work with him again. I settled for being his roommate.”
Here’s a look back at a scene from MacGruber, with Forte and Kilmer sharing the screen:
