Kilmer: 'It's fun to be irreverent'

Actor Val Kilmer was overjoyed to be given the opportunity to be a funnyman in film Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang - as he feared being typecast as a serious actor.

The Batman Forever star slams Hollywood's unwritten rule that actors may only be considered for lighthearted parts if they have recently starred in a comedy.

He says: "It's fun to be irreverent, which I don't get many opportunities to do onscreen. I've been trying to find a good comedy to do for years.

"Hollywood has habits and one of them is: you have to have recently been in a comedy to be funny. They won't give you one if you haven't been funny for a while."