Val Kilmer Reacts to Tumor Reports, Talks Health Scare: "I Am Praying for a Speedy Return to the Boards"

Val Kilmer says he did not undergo an operation to remove a tumor despite recent reports, but has confirmed that he was hospitalized recently, in an intensive care unit.

The 55-year-old actor posted a statement on his Facebook page early on Saturday to clarify his health status.

"Thank you for all your sweet support. But I have not had a tumor, or a tumor operations, or any operation," he said. "I had a complication where the best way to receive care was to stay under the watchful eye of the ucla ICU."

TMZ had reported on Friday that Kilmer was rushed to a hospital on Monday night after he started bleeding from his throat and underwent emergency surgery to treat a tumor. The Santa Monica Fire Department confirmed to People that a call came in late on Monday and that a patient was transported via ALS (advanced life support) to a UCLA medical center.

"Friends have assisted who know my spiritual convictions and have been most sensitive and kind for the extra effort in making sure there's minimum gossip and silly talk," Kilmer said in his Facebook post. "I am praying for a speedy return to the boards as they say. God bless you all and please don't worry. Love and deep affection, Val."

Kilmer has not spoken about his health publicly but had raised concerns about it among fans in recent years after appearing heavier than usual, then dropping a great deal of weight last September. His social media pages, however, have been continuously updated.

The actor, a father of two, is known for roles in movies such as Willow, Top Gun, Heat and Tombstone and in 2013, played Mark Twain in a one-man stage show, which he also directed. He reprises the role in a new drama film he is also helming, which is based on a screenplay he wrote himself and has been in development for at about four years. It is about the legendary author and Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science religious movement.

"I'm very interested for u all to see The Theory of Everything," he said in a Facebook post on Jan. 7, referring to the Oscar-nominated Eddie Redmayne movie about Stephen Hawking. "Because it's kind of what I'm trying to do with my screenplay."

"Every couple of years I am given hope again that all my effort might not all be in vain!!!!" he added. "ONWARD! ONWARD! ONWARD!"