Val Kilmer opens up about life after his battle with throat cancer

Val Kilmer will be returning to Arizona for a 'Tombstone' festival (The Associated Press)

Months after confirming his battle with throat cancer, Val Kilmer has opened up about how the ordeal changed his outlook on life.

“I was too serious,” Kilmer told The Hollywood Reporter of his career before cancer. “I’d get upset when things like Oscars and recognition failed to come my way.”

Kilmer’s desire for awards hasn’t changed, though. “I would like to have more Oscars than anybody,” Kilmer, 57, said. “Meryl Streep must feel pretty good, you know? It must feel nice to know that everyone loves her. It’s about being loved.”

Shortly after Kilmer received his diagnosis in 2015, his 26-year-old daughter, Mercedes, was hit by a car.

“We were in the same hospital at the same time,” Mercedes said.

“I was just, you know, miserable, distraught, sitting next to these two,” Kilmer’s son, Jack, added.

A Christian Scientist, Kilmer said faith got him through the emotional ordeal of his cancer battle and his daughter’s accident. He also said he underwent chemotherapy to fight it.

This article originally appeared in Page Six.