Sunday, May 15, 2005

Val Kilmer / This much I know / "I think heaven is a state of mind. As hell is."

Val Kilmer

This much I know

Val Kilmer

"I think heaven is a state of mind. As hell is."

Interview by Ben Mitchell
Sunday 15 May 2005 02.30 BST

There was no one around called Val when I was young, so I wanted to be John or Bill. Now I like it.

I think heaven is a state of mind. As hell is.

I don't watch television, but I saw The Office by accident. I thought it was so sophisticated, the Victorian love story, and so bold. We'd do anything, all of us, to not work in that environment, and then I'm sitting there watching hours of it. He's just so aggressive, Ricky Gervais. I can't get enough.

It's great to be romantic. Do all the cliches. Lots of flowers, nice music, good food. Is there such a thing as someone being out of your league? Yes, I'm sure there is.

I can change a clip out of an M16 faster than is required by the Marines.

I don't even drink coffee any more. I've played a bunch of drunks, but it never seemed like an appealing lifestyle. I've always been a lightweight, so that's saved me from any... tough experiences.

The biggest misconception about me is the vague accusation that I'm somehow a bad person.

I didn't think that the Top Gun screenplay worked, it was kind of contrived. I just didn't get the producers' grand storytelling, which is very overt. You read a scene that says you're in the classroom, then you go to the set and there are two F-16s and a 50ft flag there. Now I'm proud of it, I think it's the best flying movie. Quite gay? There is that. A couple of shower scenes too many, I think. A lot of towel snapping.

I used to be pretty shy. People's opinions concerned me, like what my friends' parents thought. Now I'm less shy.

Life is precious and when someone dies it's an opportunity to realise how precious it is. My brother drowned when I was 17. He was 15. I think I grew from that. My father didn't. It really crushed him.

When you think about the 10 Commandments it's extraordinary that we have millions of laws.

I love tennis, but here everyone always plays when Wimbledon starts so it's hard to get a court.

I enjoy being famous more now than I did when I was younger. Like when I got divorced and I had some famous girlfriend, it's inconvenient to be followed around. Did I date Cindy Crawford? Yeah, she's very nice. A smart girl with a great sense of humour. She's a fantastic cook, too, always carried recipes around when she travelled. I've been very lucky. I wish I'd been as dedicated to my career as I was to women.

I recommend marriage. It's a lot of security and comfort. It's naturally how we are; we pair up as a species. Would I get married again? Sure.

There's an idea that one's knowledge of God is equal to one's own love of man. I think about that because for most of my life it was easy to be critical, but I found that the important people in my life seem to have the most love in their hearts.

Private jets are nice, but I haven't had more fun on them than on Southwest Airlines. It depends on who you're with.

I wish that my parents had been... they were very loving people, but they didn't talk about love as much as I do with my kids. We've got to learn math and history, why isn't there a course in school on love? It doesn't make any sense when you think about it.

Youth is seen as everything. You don't know anything when you're young. It's great being older, just having a more balanced perspective. I wake up and realise that what seemed to be important last year no longer is. I'm increasingly grateful for every day.

THE GUARDIAN