Art Is A Way To Get Strength

I Don't Think Of My Life As A Cliche, But I'm A Cliche Eccentric. Complete With A Strange Name - I Mean, Who's Named Val? How Many Vals Do You Know? I Mean, Really?

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.

It`s Always Been The Same For Me. I`ve Always Enjoyed Acting, And I Really Love Good Actors; They`re Such Unique Characters. I Wish I Could Tell Stories Well, Or Tell A Joke. Any Time Someone Can Do That It`s So Satisfying. Sean Penn, For Instance, Is A Really Good Actor, And He Can Tell A Good Joke Or Story. But It`s Hard To Do. Most Actors Have Special Talents That Make Them Attractive, But They`re Often Odd Characters.

There Are Only Three Reasons To Do A Movie: The Cast, The Director, The Role. Like I Say, You Live In A Minute Of Screen Time, But To Prepare For The Minute Takes Much More Than A Day. You'd Better Be Excited About What Those Moments Are, Even If They're The Hardest Moments. Or The Smallest.

Sometimes, I Wonder What I'm Doing Back In Los Angeles, But When You Look Out There... How Can You Complain When You See A Whale Cresting, Matter-of-factly, As You Make Your Breakfast?