Val Kilmer Voiced One Of TV's Most Famous AI Characters

Glen A. Larson's 1982 action series "Knight Rider" was about a police detective named Michael Long who barely survives a gunshot wound to the face. Long is rescued by an eccentric billionaire named Wilton Knight (Richard Baseheart) and given extensive plastic surgery to look more handsome. Michael is given a new identity, Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff), gifted an artificially intelligent car named KITT (voiced by William Daniels), and sent out into the world as a secret crimefighter for FLAG, the Foundation for Law and Government. KITT was a modified Pontiac Trans-Am, equipped with an eerie glowing light in its hood. "Knight Rider" involved Michael using his investigative skills and the high-tech widgets hidden inside KITT to track down and apprehend a slew of bad guys. 

"Knight Rider" was a giant hit, lasting 90 episodes over its four seasons. It was popular enough to warrant multiple spin-off shows and movies, including "Knight Rider 2000" (1991), "Knight Rider 2010" (1994), and "Team Knight Rider" (1997). That's not counting the multiple "Knight Rider" video games release from 1986 to 2004. 

In 2008, there was a reboot TV movie, also starring Hasselhoff, that re-introduced a new version of KITT. The new KITT was a Ford Shelby GT500KR, but it could transform into other cars this time. Michael Knight passed on his spy legacy to his son, Mike (Justin Breuning), and he would go on to star in his own spin-off TV series of "Knight Rider" that ran from 2008 to 2009. In both the new movie and the new TV series, KITT was voiced by the late Val Kilmer. 

Kilmer played KITT in all 17 episodes of the 2008 "Knight Rider" series. 

William Daniels' KITT voice is entrenched deeply in the minds of the Gen-Xers who watched the original "Knight Rider" as kids, so Kilmer had big shoes to fill. Could Kilmer capture the persnickety annoyance of Daniels' performance, but also bring his own version of the character to life? As it happens, he could. Indeed, Kilmer's commanding voice performance changed the power dynamic on "Knight Rider." Daniels and Hasselhoff had a buddy-cop relationship, with KITT as the "by-the-book cop" and Michael as the "hotshot." The series pointed out that neither one could commit acts of justice without the other. KITT may have been more intelligent, but Michael had charm and street smarts. 

Kilmer's performance was less gregarious, and Breuning's was not as assured as Hasselhoff's. The relationship between the new KITT and Mike was less a partnership, and more of a disapproving boss working with a trainee. Kilmer sounded nurturing at times, but mostly seemed annoyed having to work with this newb. KITT was a far more sophisticated machine this time as well, as he could transform into a variety of other vehicles. KITT was usually a souped-up Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR, but could be a Ford F-150 FX4 pickup for off-roading purposes, for example. He could be a 1969 Mustang if he needed a disguise. (KITT could only turn into car models that were manufactured by Ford.)

At first, the filmmakers had Will Arnett record all of KITT's dialogue, but when they secured Kilmer, they re-recorded all of Arnett's lines. Arnett's performance was, no doubt, just fine, but Kilmer was a known movie star and a bigger "get" at the time. Arnett once expressed some dismay at the re-casting, but understood the corporate reasoning for why he was replaced. He had been narrating commercials for GMC Trucks at the time, so he was considered the voice of that company, and lending his voice to an artificially intelligent Ford (GMC's rival) simply wouldn't work from a marketing perspective.

A "Knight Rider" movie, which once had James Gunn interested, has still yet to materialize — but recently, word came out that the "Cobra Kai" creators are now developing their own spin on it.