Val Kilmer was Talking About Acting...

by Shawn Knutson
(Alexandria, MN)

Val Kilmer was talking about preparing mentally to act and thinking through how a person would feel in the circumstances of war. The only thing he did wrong was to trust the stupid *ss who interviewed him.

He SHOULD be proud of his work he is an awesome actor and a lovely human being and he's always been my absolute favorite and always will be.

Wouldn't YOU want Val Kilmer to play YOU in a movie? He would capture your experience better than anyone else because he is top notch as an actor and as a person.



Shawn,

Thank you for joining our conversation. We can appreciate your loyalty to your favorite actor, Val Kilmer, but we have serious disagreement with your comments.

We understand that Kilmer was attempting to explain the mental preparation process required to successfully play a role, and that it is important to good acting. But in doing so, he demonstrated ignorance, extremely poor judgment and callousness in choosing to perpetuate an untrue stereotype about Vietnam veterans. He could have chosen any number of other examples, but he chose to show disrespect for our veterans.

We disagree that the only thing he did wrong was trust the reporter. With his comments about Viet Nam vets, he did several major things wrong:

1) He failed to educate himself about the group he chose to malign;

2) He ignorantly spread untruths about a generation of heroes who served their country admirably, and who were instrumental in stopping the spread of communism throughout Asia; and

3) He demonstrated arrogance and a belief that he is somehow "better" than our Vietnam veterans.

So, just in case your vision is blurred or your judgment is skewed by blind loyalty to Val Kilmer, that is what he did wrong in his statement about Viet Nam veterans.

Chuck Klosterman accurately reported Val Kilmer's tape recorded comments, according to the confirmation we received from Esquire.

Kilmer may be a good actor, but his actions in this case indicate that he is NOT a "lovely human being." They show him to be just another arrogant, egotistical Hollywood actor who somehow thinks he's better than the rest of us.

Actors merely entertain us. In some roles they teach us, or at least cause us to think about certain issues.

But our military service members and veterans have chosen to serve a cause far greater than their own self-aggrandizement. Without their service, courage and sacrifice, actors wouldn't have the freedom to choose the roles they play, and you and I would not have the freedom to debate this issue here.

Actors are not necessary to our society; the military is necessary to protect and preserve it.

And no, we wouldn't want Val Kilmer to portray us.

We'd prefer Sandra Bullock, a lady with class and grace, who's recognized by her peers as a great actor.

That's a role Val Kilmer hasn't managed to land.