Will Forte Says Not Competing Alongside Val Kilmer In ‘The Amazing Race’ Is His Career’s “Biggest Regret”

After Will Forte and Val Kilmer co-starred in MacGruber, the film adaptation of a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch spoofing high-intensity spy dramas, the two became close friends and even shared an apartment for a few months. In a heartwarming essay published in Vulture, the SNL alum reflected warmly on their relationship and what he called the “biggest regret” of his professional life.

Forte initially characterized himself as a “huge fan” of the Top Gun actor’s, saying that the idea of casting him in the eventual role of the villainous Dieter Von Cunth was originally a long shot. When he eventually signed on, Forte and his co-star became fast friends, paving the way for them to become roommates for three months after Kilmer was looking to move out of his Malibu home.

While they lived together, Forte would typically watch The Amazing Race, the popular CBS reality show in which pairs traverse the world to complete various tasks and challenges in the quest to win $1 million. Initially, Kilmer dismissed the series as “garbage” before getting “really into it.”

“Then, at a certain point, he said, ‘Will, you and I have to go do The Amazing Race. We have to. Let’s do The Amazing Race.’ I’m like, ‘I am so fully in.’ We got really excited about it, and then we called our respective agents and managers, and they were like, ‘There’s no way you guys are doing that.’ That is, maybe to this day, the biggest regret of my whole career — that I never did The Amazing Race with Val. I think we would’ve gotten out very quickly, but it just would’ve been the experience of a lifetime,” the comedian wrote.

In closing his essay, Forte added, “I wish I had more time to remember the old stories. There are so many memories I’m leaving out … Somehow, we lucked into getting him to do MacGruber, but I didn’t know if I was going to get that lucky to get to work with him again. I settled for being his roommate.”

The Juilliard-trained Kilmer, beloved for his versatility as both a comedic and dramatic performer, as well as his genuine personality, died earlier this week at the age of 65 of pneumonia. Kilmer had previously been diagnosed with throat cancer, which permanently altered his voice, but later recovered. He was known for his leading turns in films like The Doors, The Saint, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Batman Forever, Tombstone, Thunderheart, Willow and his last credit, Top Gun: Maverick.