ROWE, N.M. — So where does an intense actor like Val Kilmer, known for disappearing into emotionally toxic roles such as Jim Morrison, go to find himself?
The answer is found up a steep embankment of loose shale that snakes alongside the lazy Pecos River. There, five oak trees embrace a cocoon of wood and tin, one artist’s rendition of that most iconic of childhood getaways: the treehouse.
“I’ll fib and say it’s for my kids, but it’s really for me,” says Kilmer, 46, flashing that famous army of white teeth, his blond locks buzzed for his just-wrapped role in the upcoming CBS miniseries Comanche Moon. “I had a treehouse as a child. So being an adult … well, it’s strangely, weirdly satisfying to sit in a tree.”