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Val Kilmer’s upcoming documentary Val sees the actor using a voice box device to speak, as he talks openly about his slow recovery from throat cancer.

In a teaser for the Amazon Prime feature, the 61-year-old actor is heard saying ‘I’ve tried to see the world, as one piece of life’ as he presses down on the electronic tool.

A voice box device is most commonly a battery operated machine that produces sound to create a voice, and is used to help those suffering with throat cancer communicate.

The emotional documentary shows the actor – who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, and went public with it in 2017 after initially denying he was ill – breaking down in tears as he discusses his health battles.

'It's difficult to talk and be understood': Val Kilmer uses a voice box to discuss throat cancer recovery as he breaks down in tears over health battle in emotional trailer for documentary Val

‘It’s difficult to talk and be understood’: Val Kilmer uses a voice box to discuss throat cancer recovery as he breaks down in tears over health battle in emotional trailer for documentary Val

‘I was recently diagnosed with throat cancer,’ an actor’s voice is heard narrating the footage. 

‘I’m still recovering, and it is difficult to talk and be understood. But I want to tell my store more than ever,’ he adds.

Kilmer – who is a devout Christian Scientist – also says about his life: ‘I have behaved poorly, I have behaved bravely…. bizarrely to some.’

Emotional: The actor is seen breaking down in tears at one point, after saying 'I've tried to see the world, as one piece of life.'

Emotional: The actor is seen breaking down in tears at one point, after saying ‘I’ve tried to see the world, as one piece of life.’ 

Candid: Kilmer is seen in his home in Los Angeles talking about his health battles

Candid: Kilmer is seen in his home in Los Angeles talking about his health battles 

Opening up: Footage from the documentary shows the actor going about his daily life as he recovers from throat cancer

Opening up: Footage from the documentary shows the actor going about his daily life as he recovers from throat cancer 

Home footage: The documentary promises to show hours of previously unseen footage from the actor's life

Home footage: The documentary promises to show hours of previously unseen footage from the actor’s life 

The documentary starts with video footage of the actor in his younger years, as some of his classic films like Top Gun, Heat and Batman Forever are flashed on the screen.

Kilmer then explains how he was one of the first people in his social circle to own a video camera, and has shot thousands of hours of footage throughout his life.

A-List actors like Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon can been seen in the footage, which Bacon overheard saying, ‘This is really cool Val.’

Iconic: Val as Iceman while filming Top Gun, alongside Tom Cruise

Iconic: Val as Iceman while filming Top Gun, alongside Tom Cruise 

Legend has it: Iceman was a role Kilmer never wanted, but 34 years later has said that he is 'proud' to be in the sequel Top Gun: Maverick

Legend has it: Iceman was a role Kilmer never wanted, but 34 years later has said that he is ‘proud’ to be in the sequel Top Gun: Maverick

Impressive resume: The actor famously played Jim Morrison in The Doors, a 1991 American biographical musical film directed by Oliver Stone

Impressive resume: The actor famously played Jim Morrison in The Doors, a 1991 American biographical musical film directed by Oliver Stone

BTS: The doc promises to show fans Val's life as he filmed some of his most famous movie roles

BTS: The doc promises to show fans Val’s life as he filmed some of his most famous movie roles

Personal: The actor is sharing some of his most intimate moments in the documentary

Personal: The actor is sharing some of his most intimate moments in the documentary 

The Top Gun star first revealed his cancer diagnosis during a 2017 Reddit AMA session to promote a film, after a fan referenced the fact that Michael Douglas had let slip in 2016 that he was ill. 

He underwent a tracheotomy as a result of the disease several years ago, and though communication has now become difficult, last year in an interview he insisted it’s just like any other challenge has he had to tackle. 

‘I’m doing great. I feel a lot better than I sound,’ Kilmer told Good Morning America in an interview which aired last August. 

Feature: Val is set to make its world premiere Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival, and will be released first in theatres on July 23 and on Amazon Prime on August 3

Feature: Val is set to make its world premiere Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival, and will be released first in theatres on July 23 and on Amazon Prime on August 3

Kilmer previously told the morning show he ‘healed quickly’ from cancer, and now uses the tracheotomy to help him breathe due to the swelling of his throat glands. 

He also detailed his health struggles in his 2020 memoir I’m Your Huckleberry.

The Batman actor found himself single and out of money from losing land investments in 2015, living in a cottage in Malibu with the postman and local burrito man as his best friends.

‘I was a weirdo beach bum and it was bliss – then bliss turned to mayhem. I coughed up coagulated blood. I presumed this was the day of my death’, Kilmer confesses in his memoir that chronicles his lost loves and lifelong spiritual journey.

Setting the stage: The Broadway actor played Mark Twain on stage and can be seen rehearsing in the documentary

Setting the stage: The Broadway actor played Mark Twain on stage and can be seen rehearsing in the documentary 

Movie star: The feature promises to show tidbits from some of his biggest films

Movie star: The feature promises to show tidbits from some of his biggest films 

Younger years: The actor is seen throughout his life in the moving documentary

Younger years: The actor is seen throughout his life in the moving documentary 

Kilmer describes how he called for an ambulance and crawled up the wooden stairs from his guesthouse to the Pacific Coast Highway so the ambulance could find him.

He woke up in a Santa Monica hospital after an emergency tracheotomy for throat cancer.

His old lover Cher had him transferred to David Geffen’s School of Medicine at UCLA where he underwent chemo and radiation over a two-month stay.

LA: A scene from the film shows where Val currently resides

LA: A scene from the film shows where Val currently resides 

Playing roles: The actor is known for throwing himself into his work

Playing roles: The actor is known for throwing himself into his work 

'80s heartthrob: Val talks about his many film roles throughout his Hollywood career

’80s heartthrob: Val talks about his many film roles throughout his Hollywood career 

Snapshot: Kilmer then explains how he was one of the first people in his social circle to own a video camera, and has shot thousands of hours of footage throughout his life

Snapshot: Kilmer then explains how he was one of the first people in his social circle to own a video camera, and has shot thousands of hours of footage throughout his life

A lifelong Christian Scientist following the beliefs of both of his parents, Kilmer wrote: ‘I do not deny miraculous healing’, Kilmer writes.

Reflecting on the cancer that had caused his tongue to swell and block his lymph passages, requiring two tracheotomies, Kilmer said: ‘The cancer miraculously healed much faster than any of the doctors predicted’.

Now when he talks, he has to put a finger to the aperture in his throat to be understood.

Val – directed by directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo – is set to make its world premiere Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival, and will be released first in theatres on July 23 and on Amazon Prime on August 3. 

Recovery: Kilmer previously said how he 'healed quickly' from cancer, and now uses the tracheotomy to help him breathe due to the swelling of his throat glands

Recovery: Kilmer previously said how he ‘healed quickly’ from cancer, and now uses the tracheotomy to help him breathe due to the swelling of his throat glands

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This post first appeared on Daily mail

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