This isn't the clarety Simon Templar that George Sanders played in three Saint films in the '40s or the capering Roger Moore of the '60s TV show. Kilmer's Simon is a man unsure of his own identity and compelled to wear disguises as if he were shopping for a new soul. Similarly, Noyce eschews the campy look of Bond or Batman. It seems deeply riven between its impulse to entertain and its aspirations to update both Freud and Le Carre. I've moved into a league of the more proven.
Some directors praise the actor's craft and attitude.
I had a spectacular time working with him. But others hear the word Kilmer and reach for their revolver. He's a deeply troubled man in need of psychiatric help. One day, after shouting at an assistant director, Kilmer stormed into his trailer. Schumacher followed him inside and said he wouldn't tolerate such antics.