Val Kilmer has played down reports that he is in the late stages of throat cancer after his friend, the actor Michael Douglas, told an audience in London "things don't look too good".
Kilmer, 56, has consistently denied reports that he is unwell, after pictures two years ago showed him with a tracheotomy tube.
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Douglas claims Kilmer is battling cancer
Actor Val Kilmer has denied he is battling throat cancer following Michael Douglas' claims that his friend was unwell during a Q&A; in London on Sunday.
The Top Gun actor is a follower of the Christian Scientist religion, which spurns medical treatment and believes that prayer can overcome reality.
However, Douglas, 72, who overcame his own battle with tongue cancer in 2010, said Kilmer was indeed ill.
![Val Kilmer rejects Michael Douglas's claim he has late-stage cancer.](/web/20161102104717im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/v/6/5/e/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsf0os.png/1477951656114.jpg)
"Val was a wonderful guy who is dealing with exactly what I had [cancer], and things don't look too good for him," said Douglas, interviewed by Jonathan Ross for a television special. "My prayers are with him. That's why you haven't heard too much from Val lately."
Kilmer's spokesman has yet to comment, but on Tuesday the actor denied he was ill, in a Facebook post promoting his new play about Mark Twain. "I'm having so much fun sharing the role I created for my stage play Citizen Twain," he wrote. "The recent news of my death has been greatly exaggerated."
In January 2015, Kilmer posted a message on Facebook denying rumours that he had been battling throat cancer - and confirming that he was being supported by people who "know my spiritual convictions". At the time, the US gossip website TMZ quoted unnamed family members as saying they were concerned that Kilmer's faith was preventing him seeking treatment.
![Michael Douglas spoke about Kilmer's alleged illness when speaking to Jonathan Ross in London on Saturday.](/web/20161102104717im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/f/0/v/t/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsf0os.png/1477951656114.jpg)
"Val Kilmer's family believes the actor is killing himself by not dealing with a serious tumour - because of his religious beliefs," the site claimed.
The site reported Kilmer had known about the tumour since the summer of 2014, and had had trouble speaking. But he preferred to cover up his neck with scarves rather than seek treatment. In January 2015, however, he started bleeding from the throat and was taken to hospital. Kilmer denied the report as "silly talk" and insisted he was fine.
The Telegraph, London
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