Kapow! Batman star hits London

Val Kilmer has turned down two big-budget movies for a chance to star on the West End stage.

The 45-year-old is to make his British theatre debut at The Playhouse next month, playing charismatic chancer Frank Chambers in The Postman Always Rings Twice.

Kilmer - who has starred in more than 40 Hollywood films, including Batman Forever, Alexander, Top Gun and The Doors - will fly in to the capital next week in time for rehearsals on 18 April.

One insider revealed: "He's given up a couple of movies to do it. Let's just say he's given up the chance of millions for what's going to amount to no more than a few thousand pounds." Kilmer is the latest in a string of big-name Hollywood film and TV stars to accept lower pay for a chance to tread the boards in the West End.

David Hasselhoff, Kathleen Turner, Christian Slater, Kim Cattrall, Matthew Perry and Nicole Kidman have all appeared in recent years.

Kilmer will reprise the character made famous by Jack Nicholson in the 1981 movie - about a handyman drifter who plots the murder of his mistress's husband.

Kilmer did not audition for his part, but met theatre bosses in London during a flying visit from his New Mexico home last month.

Producer Rupert Gavin told the Standard: "Val was always our prime candidate for the role. I've known for a while he wanted to do more stage work and specifically in London.

"He had an immediate rapport with the script and was eager to be a part of it. This is Val's debut British theatre performance but his theatre experience in the US is considerable."

Kilmer's career began on stage, and his roles have included off-Broadway productions of Hamlet, 'Tis Pity She's A Whore and Henry IV Part I.

He once said of theatre: "It's the most fulfilling thing I can do and get paid for."

Kilmer is divorced from British actress Joanne Whalley, with whom he has two children, Mercedes and Jack.

The Postman Always Rings Twice opened last year as a West Yorkshire Playhouse production.

Its cast has largely been changed - bar the female lead, Cora, who is played by Briton Charlotte Emmerson.

Her acting CV includes roles in TV series The Alan Clark Diaries, Foyle's War and Holby City - as well as National Theatre productions The Cherry Orchard and The Crucible.

The Postman Always Rings Twice opens at The Playhouse on 24 May for a 10-week run