What the Hell Happened to The Saint? (New Video)

Agreed

https://www.theringer.com/2017/4/4/16036474/val-kilmer-career-the-saint-movies-70e784e56665

Prior to his role as international thief Simon Templar in The Saint, Kilmer starred with Marlon Brando in the troubled sci-fi epic The Island of Dr. Moreau. Kilmer was cast in the film after Bruce Willis dropped out, and shortly thereafter Brando’s daughter died, which sent the Godfather actor into a tailspin. Brando’s onset behavior was erratic, but Kilmer was no less disruptive, and had no extenuating tragedy to blame. "On the rare occasions any filming took place, Kilmer was rude and abrasive: during one scene, he reportedly sat on the ground and refused to stand up," the film’s original director Richard Stanley told The Telegraph. (Stanley was replaced during film production.) "I don’t like Val Kilmer, I don’t like his work ethic, and I don’t want to be associated with him ever again," Stanley’s replacement John Frankenheimer told Entertainment Weekly in 1996.

Dr. Moreau was a notorious bomb with a troubled production, and it might seem like the obvious turning point in Kilmer’s career. But Kilmer is good in the film, and he would get more chances to correct his career trajectory; he still had commercial credit from the box-office success of Batman Forever, and critics admired his work. Male movie stars in the 1990s could often atone for reputation hiccups with a few rueful, PR-savvy apologies. Hugh Grant stammered for a few minutes on Leno in 1995 and was forgiven for hiring a sex worker while he dated Liz Hurley. Kilmer, who merely had a rap for surliness and no full-blown scandals, was a lukewarm bad boy well within Hollywood’s moral boundaries.