By Brent Lang
Publication Date: 2026-03-18 14:00:00
Five years before his death in 2025, Val Kilmer was cast as Father Fintan, a Native American Catholic priest and spiritualist, in As Deep as the Grave. But Kilmer, battling throat cancer, was too sick to ever make it to the set.
“He was the actor I wanted to play this role,” says the film’s writer and director, Coerte Voorhees. “It was entirely geared towards him. It drew on his Native American heritage and his connection to the Southwest and his love of the Southwest. I was looking at a schedule the other day and we had him ready to shoot. He was going through a very, very difficult time medically and couldn’t make it.”
Although he didn’t film a single scene, Voorhees was able to realize his vision of having Kilmer in the cast through the use of cutting-edge generative AI. And he did it in collaboration with the late actor’s estate and his daughter Mercedes (Voorhees says Kilmer’s son Jack is also supporting him).
“His family…
