Exclusive Interview: Catching Up with Kristanna Loken

AE: You’ve had that problem before, haven’t you?
KL: Yeah, I’ve had problems with people I’ve been with who haven’t necessarily fully accepted themselves or have been afraid of what the public would think. I think that just breeds contempt and discrimination from others who might have issues.

I mean, Harvey Milk really said it best: If you identify within yourself as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender — whatever — and those people around you already love you, tell them, because they won’t care.

I think it’s up to us to give voice to that, no matter what job you have or what you do. You don’t have to stand on a rooftop and sing it, but you should do things in a way that makes other people proud of who you are and what you stand for, and not be afraid of that.

AE: Do you think there’s a legitimate fear, let’s say for actresses in particular, that if they come out they’ll lose roles?
KL: I don’t know. For me, I don’t really think of that because some people are going to like who I am and what I’m about, and other people aren’t. And that’s OK. I think people can look at me and identify with me being with a woman or a man, so I don’t think it’s going to be limiting.

If you live in that fear, it’s going to show in your performance, because you’re going to be held back and you’re not going to be able to express yourself. I think you’re really shortchanging yourself at the end of the day.

AE: What made you decide to go public with this very private news?
KL: This time? Or other times? (laughs)

AE: This time.
KL: This time, I just wanted to be honest and set the record straight. I didn’t think it was fair to anybody if people were asking me about my marriage, and I wasn’t honest. I wanted to be forthright rather than have someone see my girlfriend and I together and make some cheap, backhanded comment.

AE: Is your girlfriend in the entertainment industry?
KL: No, she’s not.

AE: Is there anything else you’d like to say about her?
KL: Sure, I mean, I don’t want to mention her name, but she’s a personal trainer and that’s how I met her.

AE: (laughs) Of course she’s a trainer. Of course you met at the gym.
KL: I was on the rowing machine. (laughs) That’s how the whole thing started. She started training me, and she’s still training me. I’m a very outdoorsy, physical, active person, and I enjoy the gym as well, and that was something we had in common, and it just kind of went from there.

AE: It was something you mentioned about Noah that you really connected with, that you could go on long hikes and enjoy that part of life together. It sounds like you’ve found somebody else you can connect to that way.
KL: Absolutely, you’re right. That’s a very important part of my lifestyle. I think I get along with men really well; I have a lot of the same interests as men, and that’s one reason it was very easy for me to get along with Noah. Generally, it’s a little trickier finding women who are as daring as I am when it comes to crazy travel and things like that. She enjoys a lot of those same things too, so it’s nice we have that in common.