Val Kilmer the Real Deal

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Working With Val

David Mamet                 

Writer and Director, Spartan

 

"I love Val and adore his work.  I've always been fortunate enough to work with good actors." 

 

"When I write for good actors, I always leave something out so they can brings something to it and Val certainly does that."

 

"It's great working with different actors and I've never found an actor more different than Val Kilmer! He’s very intelligent and very honest. It’s just you looking at him playing the part rather than looking at him bringing his ideas to the part." 

Oliver Stone

Director, The Doors

 

 

"Kilmer is passionate about his work –-with the wrong approach, you may see a side of him you don’t like."

"Val definitely has his own agenda, but that’s part of his commitment.  He’s supremely gifted and very intelligent and he doesn’t like to back down unless he’s proven wrong.  That can produce arguments, but it also produces great work."

"Working with Val was the best part of the movie."

Lisa Kudrow                                Actress, Wonderland

 

 

"I was intimidated by that reputation, but I was excited by his other reputation of being a really talented actor."

"Once I met him and started working with him, that negative reputation disappeared." 

"He is a phenomenal actor who makes the other actors with him look good. I never saw him as demanding, but he is committed to making the best possible movie. If he had any gripes on the set, they were made in a positive way."

"He's an actor who has the big picture in mind, not just how a particular scene will make him look."

James Cox 

Director, Wonderland

 

"If he asks you about his character’s motivation and you’re not sure, you’re screwed.  But he loves the ghosts of his real-life characters, and he is more passionate than any actor I’ve seen.  You want somebody that intense if you’re going to play John Holmes in a movie about a quadruple murder." 

USA Today, 10/19/03

 

 

"He’s demanding, sure.  But he’s also one of the best actors in film today and he expects you to be at your best as well.  He is more passionate than any actor I’ve seen.  And you want somebody that intense to play someone like John  Holmes."

B. Hooper National Post, Canada, 10/24/03.

D.J.Caruso                          Director, Salton Sea

 

 

"...you have to learn to speak Val."

 

"Having worked now with Val, I think a lot of the problems that other directors might have had with him is that he needs to be directed and wants to be directed. You can’t just tell Val, “stand over here.”  he really wants to be directed.  That’s really demanding, but demanding in a good way, because he wants it to be good.  You can’t complain about that."

 

"There were times when we’d have discussions in his trailer over a scene.  Val requires a director’s attention.  He wants you to say which pair of pants you like.  I had one objective, to get the movie done well, and I would do whatever was required.  Val needs to immerse himself in a character.  I think what happened with directors like Frankenheimer and Schumacher is that Val would ask a lot of questions, and a guy like Schumacher would say, 'You’re Batman!  Just go do it.'  I can see that just driving Val crazy."

 

"He is misunderstood.  I think it’s important for people to know what a good relationship we had."

"Val is the type of actor who, when he has a character that he can really get into, becomes that character." 

 

"When I see him in the right-role, in the right movie, he’s not a movie star playing someone; He actually makes me believe he is that character.It actually surprised me how much he really wanted to be directed.  He was willing and wanting to be directed." 

"I had heard that once Val forms an opinion about a character, he’s pretty much stuck on it, and directing him might be more difficult.  What surprised me the most, and what was most rewarding, was how collaborative he was."

 

 

Josh Lucas                                    Actor, Wonderland

 

 

 

"Actually, I experienced the same thing with Val as I did with Russell (Crowe)."

"When an actor is extremely dedicated to a character and a film, they will often be destructive towards anything they feel gets in the way of that.  Val brought that to this film, and he asked that of the rest of us." 

"So now he’s one of my favorite people to work with, because this film was a terrific collaboration.  He was so deeply committed to creating his character, and in that process I developed a high respect for him.  And the same is true of Russell."

Sydney Morning Herald, 1/30/04

Michael Douglas                     Actor and Producer, The Ghost and the Darkness

 

 

"My experience with Val Kilmer on this film was just great. He had a tough role. He carried the picture. He was in every scene and he did a wonderful job. His stamina was good. So was his professionalism and his concentration."

"But I had no problem with him. I had heard a lot of stuff before. We talked about responsibility, what it’s like to carry a picture, in setting the tone. And he did it!"

"For Val, he understood not only what was on the page but the spiritual essence of what the movie was trying to say and he has sort of lived and breathed the character of John Patterson for a long time."

 

"There’s a mystery quality about Val, – and no one is likely to solve it anytime soon."

"A mensch. I’ll go on safari with him anytime."

David Thewlis                        Actor, Island of Dr. Moreau

 

 

"Well, I really enjoyed working with Val, I thought he was great, he’s very intense, very intelligent, and very inventive the whole time, he really kept you on your toes. The fact is that Val wants the control but he has some great ideas.  I think if they would have listened to Val a bit more, the film might be a little bit better." 

 

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