The Relationship between “Me" and “My Ideal Me”
My dearest Tom—I mean Tom Cruise—is eternal! His new movie, Top Gun: Maverick, proves that. He is nearly 60 years old, but I still respectfully call him “dearest Tom” because he is always “Tom Cruise” regardless of the characters he portrays. He is an actor surrounded by a noble aura. He is ageless. He devotes himself to maintaining his superior abilities and physique and is forever polishing himself. That’s why I respect him. “I've privileged to have lived my dream”—when he said that, I saw a radiating light behind the great actor's smile.
But this time, I’d like to talk about Val Kilmer, who portrayed Ice Man in the original Top Gun (1986). He was just as radiant as my dearest Tom in the movie. Not only did he play the legendary Ice Man in Top Gun, he also revived Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991) with a presence more powerful than the real singer, and gave a new character to Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993) with his charismatic performance. His words and voice were effortlessly cool, and the movement and air he created were truly artistic—I still remember them vividly. His expression, so detailed and focused, took my breath away. This made me want to watch all of his performances, so I checked out every single film where he was cast—I didn’t care how small his role, or how bad the film. The Saint (1997) and Batman Forever (1995) are works of entertainment, but I personally enjoyed them in different ways—the ending song of The Saint was performed by Duran Duran, and Seal and Massive Attack contributed their music to Batman Forever, for example.
Many films released during the Top Gun period in the 80s had high budgets and lavish looks. They were produced with the hope that a large audience would share the same space watching a big screen to experience spectacles of multilayered sound and images. It was my golden age and there were no cellular phones. I greatly enjoyed films from all over the world. Then, after the movie, I’d talk with my friends over drinks. Even after the bubble economy ended, I continued to frequent movie theaters until the eruption of the pandemic in 2020. Most of them were art theaters that premiered low-budgeted films and film festival pieces as well as those made by directors who devoted themselves completely to filmmaking. Crafted films touch the heart. I am grateful for all the craftspeople and those who supported and cooperated with them, regardless of their field.
In my interpretation, acting is the ability to understand other people’s thoughts written into a scenario and then to release them through your body. Then, when a person who receives your action responds, you feel that person’s words, attitude, movements, and gestures and understand them with your full body. It requires a detailed control of timing and manipulation of props, and performing all of these things correctly is really difficult. Also, I think acting is a universal life technique that social skills require. It can be applied at the office or even with family members. By understanding a person’s gestures and their own codes and keeping conscious of their habits, you can establish a harmonious relationship. Acting is not just a simple performance based on a scenario, but also an action in daily life.
The most amazing thing about Val Kilmer is that he can create something out of nothing. He can also command a hundred different voices and a million different expressions. I think he had tremendous creativity. However, it seems that he caused himself to lose his opportunities of expression after a series of unfavorable comments and odd behaviors, including declining a job offer from Tadashi Suzuki, a theater director known as Japan’s Stanislavsky,
This often happens to self-conscious, prominent, and smart people—it’s good while they are socially successful, but that’s not always the case—there are times when the “current self” and the “ideal self they wish to be” start to part ways. As the wish’s grandeur increases, it attacks the current self directly. If you should fall into such trouble, the way to overcome it is to communicate with people right in front of you, not to remain facing yourself. By exposing yourself to others, you can avoid attacking yourself. I have learned that it is crucial that I play my role while keeping the relationship with others but also to continue trying something new in an unwavering manner. This is the way to maintain a balance between the current self and the ideal self—Top Gun taught me all those things.
