VAL KILMER

Hollywood is wonderful, but it does eat its young.

It's the persona that makes you a leading actor. A leading actor has something extra that's fun to watch. But it isn't usually about acting.

Peter Sellers was just a brilliant actor, and also comedic.

I can safely say that no one who has ever won an Oscar didn't want to win an Oscar.

When you're young, you're always concerned about how you're being seen and how you're being criticized.

It's fun to look at people that are so good at acting that aren't actors, like David Bowie creating a mystique about rock n' roll.

You can ask anyone who knows me, I've never said a racist or prejudiced thing in my life.

I have two children and they're young yet but all of the children that I know really inspire me.

Mark Twain created a new type of literature and not a lot of people can say that. Not a lot of people can say they're absolutely original and completely self-made.

It is a weird thing that actors have people applaud when they're done working. I still find that entertaining.

You just don't understand humility until you have children and get divorced.

Warren Beatty once told me that if someone's really stuck on you, find them their next boyfriend. But I could never do that.

It's a really weird thing, modern divorce. I found out I was getting divorced on television. That was kind of weird.

I love that Bob Dylan asked me to be in the first movie he wrote.

There was such a relationship between the buffalo and the American Indian - the Indians would eat them, live inside their pelts, use every part of the body. There was almost no separation between the people and the animals.

Being creative and making money in the theater is very challenging.

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 death is just a transition to another state of consciousness.

With legitimate journalists I've always had a great time - I've never gone out of my way to court the press. That's probably cost me some money, but I've always had the respect of my peers.

I live on a ranch that's larger than Manhattan. That's a weird circumstance.

I respect people who can do both careers, like Will Smith and a couple of other people who have done it, but I just don't know when they sleep.

I think part of my reputation has to do with the difficult roles I've played. Actors do tend to get identified with their characters.

I would probably do anything with David Mamet. He's so great. I just love his writing.

What I do for a living is listen.

I sang the songs in 'The Doors'.