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Piers Morgan Live
Interview with Maroon 5's Adam Levine; Interview with Denise Richards
Aired August 13, 2011 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PIRES MORGAN, HOST: Tonight, Adam Levine, rock star, Maroon 5 front man. He's sold more than 15 million albums. He's conquered TV on his first season of "The Voice."
Christina takes things to a whole new level, I would imagine, doesn't she? You can level with me.
ADAM LEVINE, NBC'S "THE VOICE": I can't on national television.
MORGAN: But tonight his biggest challenge yet. I'm getting him to do something you've never, I mean never seen him do before.
LEVINE: This is so dumb. I don't know why I can do it.
MORGAN: That is incredible.
The amazingly multitalented Adam Levine.
Also tonight, the woman who knows Charlie Sheen better than anybody.
DENISE RICHARDS, ACTRESS: The Charlie that you have seen over the last six months is not the person that I met and married.
MORGAN: Denise Richards. Her life, her loves.
RICHARDS: Oh, I've had many loves.
MORGAN: And what she thinks of her ex-husband now.
RICHARDS: I'm way too old for him now.
(LAUGHTER)
MORGAN: This is PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT.
(MUSIC)
MORGAN: Adam Levine is the front man of the mega-successful band Maroon 5. He sold 15 million albums around the world, and he coached Javier Colon to the big win on NBC's "The Voice." And Adam joins me now.
Congratulations.
LEVINE: Thank you very much. MORGAN: I mean what's been the bigger thrill? Fifteen million albums or big talent show superstar?
LEVINE: Gosh. I mean, you know, the 15 million -- every time someone says that it blows my mind. I can't believe it. The talent show thing was a surprise because I'm not sure any of us knew what to expect. And then obviously, you know, you being a part of it as well. I don't know --
(CROSSTALK)
MORGAN: I don't think of the option because I haven't sold 15 million albums.
LEVINE: That's true. You haven't done that.
MORGAN: To me, this is it. And I haven't no discernible talent so.
LEVINE: Well, that's not necessarily true.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVINE: You know, I was just very open minded but a little skeptical, a little curious about it, and it wound up working and kind of -- I hate to sound so heavy about it but kind of changed my life a little bit because --
MORGAN: Yes, I mean, I was going to ask you that because you've been a very cool rock star but there is a difference. I mean -- there's a credibility thing which I know you all go through before you take on these shows.
LEVINE: Absolutely.
MORGAN: And I'm sure all of you. It's a stellar cast of judges or coaches.
LEVINE: Yes. Absolutely.
MORGAN: You know which --
LEVINE: A huge part of that was that, though -- you know, a huge part of it was finding out who's going to be involved with the show.
MORGAN: Right.
LEVINE: And then once that started taking shape, I thought OK, this could be really cool. You know? Everyone is in a different phase of their career and it's kind of a great thing, and it's all so wrong it could be right. You know what I mean?
MORGAN: Did you worry that if it didn't do that well it could damage the Maroon 5 end of things?
LEVINE: Not necessarily. It seemed more like if was one of those things where OK, here's a slight calculated risk, I guess you could say. And you know, you can't take away things like selling a lot of records and having a huge fan base. That's not going to necessarily go anywhere. It's not going to vanish overnight.
But potentially this could be a good vehicle for the band, you know, this could be a great thing. So I saw more potential in it than anything else. And of course, I mean, it could have been the downside, which is it being a massive failure, but that didn't happen. So I'm very happy about that.
MORGAN: How has it changed your life? It's interesting you say that.
LEVINE: Just being able to -- the mentor aspect of it. It was really kind of a surprise for me. You know? Just being able to help people along with knowledge that we were -- you know, that I've gained over the years. Like, I never thought I was particularly -- I'm in a band.
I play in a band, I write songs, I sing, you know, perform on stage. But I never thought of myself as having the tools to kind of help somebody along. And that process was surprisingly amazing for me. I had such a great time doing it and realized that I actually like doing it so.
MORGAN: I mean you're very nice on that show, all of you. Obviously, this isn't the way --
LEVINE: Yes.
MORGAN: This isn't the modus operandi that I bring to my judgmental behavior but --
LEVINE: You see a vast array of things on your show. We're focusing on one thing that we actually know a lot about. And it's like -- it's a very fixated -- you know, we're all fixated on the singing part. It's a little different. I mean, I'm sure I'd probably be the same way on your show because there are so many different types of things.
MORGAN: You said a wonderfully bitchy line about "American Idol." You said the people were not turning our chairs around for could win "American Idol." And that was a real meow moment.
LEVINE: That was a little jab.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVINE: Whatever. It's the biggest show on television. I think they can take a little jab.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVINE: It wasn't an uppercut or anything like that.
MORGAN: Have you been surprised about how your profile has changed since the smash hit of "The Voice"?
LEVINE: Yes. I was very, very happy and comfortable with the level of fame that I had. It didn't need to be any more. And I didn't really think about that as much when I took the job. And I didn't really know -- I didn't really realize what I was getting myself into as far as that's concerned because this is what they call TV famous.
It's a very different thing. People see you on TV every day, they start knowing your name. You know, I was always just the guy from Maroon 5 until I became myself.
MORGAN: And now it's Adam.
LEVINE: I know. It's very bizarre. It actually is very strange, people calling your name on the streets, because usually it's Maroon 5 and now it's, hey, Adam, and you turn around, you think it's your buddy.
MORGAN: Is it a bit unsettling after years of being able to be slightly below that radar suddenly you're like whoa, you know, this famous TV guy.
LEVINE: Yes, it's a little unsettling but it's also kind of better that I experienced some level of it before. So it didn't just skyrocket all of a sudden and it becomes something I couldn't handle. And I'm a little older now so I'm not 17.
You know I don't understand how kids handle it when you're younger. I'm so happy that it all kind of evolved and grew slowly as opposed to -- I didn't get slapped in the face with it when I was --
MORGAN: I mean, I thought I had problems working with Sharon Osbourne in terms of the diva stakes, but I mean Christina takes things to a whole new level, I would imagine, doesn't she? You can level with me.
LEVINE: Can I on national television, level with you?
(LAUGHTER)
LEVINE: She's fine. You know, I mean, listen, we're all a pain in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) in our own way. In our own unique beautiful way.
Piers Morgan, I'm sure you're a pain in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) sometimes.
MORGAN: Most people would concur with that.
LEVINE: Yes, am I right?
(LAUGHTER)
LEVINE: No, but you know, it's -- everyone's got their thing. And you know people bust her chops a little bit, but it's fine. It's nothing out of control, really.
MORGAN: Did you all feel the competitive juices coming out?
LEVINE: Not so -- well, a little bit. Not so much with each other. I feel like I've got three great new friends and it's awesome and we have fun. And it's playfully competitive. But the real competition is I really just wanted the right person to win. And I mean, I was all bent out of shape about it the night before.
I was not thinking he was going to do it and I was nervous and freaking out, and I was -- I was in it. I was definitely wrapped up in the whole thing so.
MORGAN: I want to throw a few names at you as if they've appeared on "The Voice," and you've got to give a bit of mentor --
LEVINE: Do I have to turn my chair around or I have to mentor them?
MORGAN: You can -- well, do either actually, because you know who they are.
LEVINE: OK. OK.
MORGAN: So Adele performs. What would your reaction be?
LEVINE: She's ridiculous. She's so good. You know, she would -- she would win in two seconds. I'm not sure I could win, by the way. You know, that's another thing, too, is this was a very humbling experience, because I'm a fine singer. I -- you know, I have a decent voice. And I think I have I have a distinct voice. But I don't have one of these belty voices like Javier.
So my own confidence in myself to win something like this isn't necessarily -- I don't think I would be a ringer. But Adele would be. She would be --
MORGAN: Justin Bieber?
LEVINE: Great singer. That kid can sing, man.
MORGAN: Could he win "The Voice"?
LEVINE: He could. He could. I mean, it really depends. Another thing that I learned about the show is that it's so hard to say -- a guy like Javier is almost supernatural in his ability. I mean, that is just not normal.
You know what I'm saying? Physical ability-wise, you know, he's probably one of the best singers I've ever heard in my life.
MORGAN: Really?
LEVINE: Yeah.
MORGAN: You see, for all those who criticize these talent shows -- we found a girl last year, Jackie Evancho, who David Foster sat in the studio a while ago and said that he'd been mentoring Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand and others that this girl had the best voice at her age he'd ever heard before.
And I look at Susan Boyle and these others. These shows can produce bona fide huge stars. LEVINE: Yes. And another thing that's huge to think about is the artistry that's connected to it. Because it's not always just been an amazing singer. There are a lot of other things. There are songs. there's production. There's the style of who you are as a person, whether people like you.
There's a lot of different things, especially now in the wake of kind of all the social media taking over and becoming so prevalent. They want to love you, too.
MORGAN: Likability is always a key thing with these shows.
LEVINE: Absolutely. In general --
MORGAN: How would someone like Lady Gaga do, given that she doesn't go out of her way to say like me. She's provocative. She's daring.
LEVINE: She's great. I mean, she's a performer. Showmanship is a huge thing for her. She's a huge performer. So her --
MORGAN: Could she win a show like "The Voice"?
LEVINE: Given the right circumstances, probably. You know, for all of the rest of the craziness that goes on when that woman is on stage, if you stripped it all away, I think she does have a good voice. I think there's a lot of distractions from that.
But I don't think of her as, you know, a non-musician or -- you know, she writes and all those things, too.
MORGAN: I want to play a little clip from this "Moves Like Jagger" collaboration you came up with from "The Voice." And we'll chat about this after you watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: You look a bit uncomfortable watching yourself there.
LEVINE: No, no. I don't like watching myself back on television. Singing on TV sucks, because my voice isn't particularly big. I don't have a big -- I have a thinner, small voice.
MORGAN: When you're next to Christina -- I mean, I saw her perform at a private party Donald Trump had here last summer. And she ages about this high. And she sort of bustled through full of attitude. And then she just began to sing. And I've never heard a voice that big, as close as I was that night.
I mean, she's extraordinary.
LEVINE: She is an extraordinary talent. And that's the thing is you know, shows up a little bit late and everyone's pissed off. She opens up her mouth and starts singing and no one cares anymore. It's pretty incredible.
She's -- she does blow your mind, and you kind of realize, oh, yeah, OK. Wow. You know. So she's great, man.
MORGAN: If I was to put you on "America's Got Talent" but you couldn't sing, what would your talent be? What are the secret Adam Levine talents we don't know about?
LEVINE: Secret Adam Levine -- you know, I was all in with music. I'm not sure.
MORGAN: Weird little party pieces you do?
LEVINE: I can balance things on my nose pretty well.
MORGAN: Really?
LEVINE: Yeah.
MORGAN: How big a thing can you balance on your nose?
LEVINE: I can balance a lot of stuff on my nose. I can balance -- probably nothing in here.
MORGAN: I'm going to get something at the break.
LEVINE: I'll start looking for them and if I see something -- on my chin, too. I can do guitars. It's quite amazing, actually.
MORGAN: I like this theory. I think what we'll do is go to a break and find something you can balance on your nose.
LEVINE: I did that when you I was about seven years old. I appeared in a --
MORGAN: You can't start backtracking now.
LEVINE: I'll do it.
(CROSS TALK)
LEVINE: I will do it right now.
MORGAN: Great. Let's have a break. And then we come back to Adam Levine, the great nose balancer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: Adam, that was in your day job, obviously, singing "This Love." But enough of that for a moment because the challenge has been laid down. You have claimed to be an accomplished nose and I believe chin balancer, depending on the object.
LEVINE: Yeah.
MORGAN: So let's see a bit of this. Come on. Let's see you with a baseball cap first. We're go up in ascending glory of instruments.
LEVINE: There are members of my family that have seen me do this since I was a child. I could probably do this one sitting down, but I don't want to --
MORGAN: OK.
LEVINE: All right, kids. Be somebody.
MORGAN: That is brilliant. Brilliant.
LEVINE: That's what we do here in Hollywood, folks.
MORGAN: OK. That's good. Let's move up to the small broom.
LEVINE: This is going to have to go on my chin. Because it has an awkward chin. Could I go down here?
MORGAN: Yeah.
LEVINE: This is so dumb. I don't know why I can do it.
MORGAN: That is incredible.
LEVINE: That's it. I can do it forever. It's really therapeutic.
MORGAN: OK. Here we go. This is the biggie. Now, this is heavy.
LEVINE: Yeah, this kind of sucks.
MORGAN: This is actually a heavy old duty broom.
LEVINE: If I do, do I get like 15 bucks or something?
MORGAN: Well, you can definitely come back.
LEVINE: Cool, not even 15 bucks. Wow. All right. (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Ooh, sorry.
MORGAN: No, you can say that. This is a high pressure environment.
LEVINE: Adam Levine breaks chin at Piers Morgan. Here we go. Pressure.
MORGAN: Pressure's mounting here.
That is incredible. That is brilliant. I take my -- if I had my hat on, I'd take it of to you.
LEVINE: That's right, America. Bet you didn't know that (EXPLETIVE DELETED). MORGAN: Have you ever performed this stunt live on television?
LEVINE: No. And you know what? I probably never will again.
MORGAN: Well, your talent is now exposed. The reason I like you, apart from the fact I actually genuinely like your music -- the reason I like you is when you Tweet things like this: "when people complain about paparazzi, I want to slap them in the face. You signed up for this, dip (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Buck up."
Hurrah.
LEVINE: That's a little harsh.
MORGAN: But thank God we've got somebody in the music business who recognizes it's a two-way street, isn't it?
LEVINE: It is a two-way street. And also it's a two-way street as far as the way you look at it, because people do want to be famous for whatever reason. For me, it was I wanted to just be a successful singer. I think it had less to do with fame than anything else.
But, you know, if you're going to sign up for this job and you're going to be on television or you're going to be doing music or you're going to be an actor, there's going to be a certain amount of this that comes with it. A lot of people that start hating it and when it starts to consume them and own them, they bring out -- they brought it on themselves.
Sometimes that's not the case. But to complain about it so passionately I think is irresponsible, because there are a lot of people with real problems.
MORGAN: Half the world's starving.
LEVINE: Exactly.
MORGAN: And 9.2 percent of the American population is out of work. And hearing very wealthy celebrities -- I always feel this.
LEVINE: Yeah.
MORGAN: Hearing very wealthy celebrities bleating about the perils and price of fame is just very boring.
LEVINE: It's nothing more than a pain in the ass. And sometimes it's a giant pain in the ass for people, in ways I don't understand. I respect that, but --
MORGAN: But there are very few stars I think who are at the level where it becomes intolerable. If you're Britney Spears going through the meltdown that she had, I get it. It was too much and too frenzied. Princess Diana and so on.
But there are very few in that top league of that kind of attention.
LEVINE: Absolutely. And most of the people that are in that position don't complain as much.
MORGAN: Do the paparazzi give you a hard time?
LEVINE: No. They don't bother me. And every time they do -- like I said, you know, they don't stalk me at my house or anything like that. But just hey, how are you doing? What's up? Hey, can you get out of my way? Whatever. If they're a pain in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED), they're a pain in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
But I just don't like how people go on and on about it. I appreciate that you appreciated that Tweet.
MORGAN: I totally did. You also Tweeted "being royalty must be painfully boring. I bet they never do anything cool like play naked Twister."
Did you play naked Twister, Adam?
LEVINE: I've never played naked Twister.
MORGAN: You'd like to, wouldn't you?
LEVINE: I just thought it was a funny Tweet. I was just banking on the fact that they probably hadn't, royalty.
MORGAN: When we saw Prince William and -- or the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as they are now, in Hollywood recently, what did you make of all the fuss that came with them?
LEVINE: It's exciting, you know, especially for us. We don't have royalty anymore.
MORGAN: Why do the Americans like the royals so much?
LEVINE: I like they like the romantic kind of idea behind it. It's a very cool thing when you don't have that anymore. It's just nostalgia, I think.
MORGAN: I went to the big BAFTA party, watching all these huge stars like Barbra Streisand and Tom Hanks and J. Lo and so on, all bustling to get near William and Kate. It was quite a fascinating thing to observe.
LEVINE: That's so funny. That's exactly what happened when I was at the Obama inauguration, was that you saw these extremely famous people just falling all over each other to get to see the president, to meet the president.
So you had this list of people. And it was just so -- it was incredible to see them become groupies. It was like -- it's pretty incredible.
MORGAN: Who do you get star struck by? Who have you been star struck by?
LEVINE: Star struck. Who was I star struck by? It's a weird term because I would say I was kind of -- I don't really get star struck unless I've got a tremendous amount of respect for the person.
MORGAN: Who have you been most excited -- I mean, you're a massive Beatles fan, right?
LEVINE: Oh, yeah.
MORGAN: Have you met Paul McCartney?
LEVINE: Yeah. No, I haven't. And if I had, I would definitely be a bit star struck. But star struck's a strange way to look at it because I would just be kind of enamored because he was so important to me growing up that I would just kind of be blown away. But star struck, you know -- .
MORGAN: Your whole family are Beatles fans, right? You were indoctrinated.
LEVINE: Yeah, I was raised on the Beatles. I was quizzed about who was singing what in every song. My mom was a massive Beatles fan. So she started me out on the path.
MORGAN: If Paul McCartney's watching, you're available, yes?
LEVINE: Paul McCartney, I'd really like to meet you. I promise I won't be star struck. And I'd like to visit Liverpool with you.
MORGAN: As if you couldn't get any more sickening, being good- looking, super rich, incredibly successful, now a smashing TV star --
LEVINE: It's good for my confidence.
MORGAN: You also date one of the world's most beautiful Russian super models. And I would like to come back after the break and vomit in your general direction.
LEVINE: No problem.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWS BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: Yeah, so there you are, singing "Misery" to a tall, leggy, blond, beautiful super model from Russia who is your girlfriend. I mean, how miserable can that particular vignette be, Adam?
LEVINE: Not miserable at all. I'm not complaining about any of that.
MORGAN: Now, look, you're in the enviable position of being able to basically pick and choose your female partners. And let's be fair. You've been through a pretty heavy selection list in the past. This one appears -- we're now 18 months in?
LEVINE: That's an alleged list?
MORGAN: How many is true? Come on.
LEVINE: That's an alleged list?
MORGAN: Percentage-wise.
LEVINE: None of them are true. Anyway, my relationship's going very well. Let's talk about that.
MORGAN: Where did you meet Anna?
LEVINE: I met her -- I'm not telling that story.
MORGAN: Why? How bad is it?
LEVINE: It's not bad. It's just not particularly inspiring. I don't want to tell it. It's for me. I don't know.
The relationship stuff I keep to myself. But she's wonderful and everything is fantastic.
MORGAN: How does she deal with the cliche' of millions of women freaking out when they see you?
LEVINE: Millions of men are always trying to sleep with her, so it works itself out.
MORGAN: Who gets more jealous?
LEVINE: It's pretty even. So we're good. We laugh about it. It's funny.
MORGAN: You're in a business full of temptation, one where it's littered with people who fall off the rails, you know, pretty frequently. How have you managed to avoid that kind of pitfall?
LEVINE: Heavy drug regimen.
That's a joke. That was a joke. Once again, that was a joke.
No, you know, I think having family and friends around you, having people who support you, having people that are willing to tell you when you're being a jerk, which most people in our positions don't have, you know.
MORGAN: Who do you have that would do that to you?
LEVINE: Oh, so many people. The line -- the list is so long. Because I was born and raised in Los Angeles, which is a very rare thing. And you know, hey, you're being (EXPLETIVE DELETED). That's OK. People can say that. I don't have any -- I surround myself with people who I love and who love me.
MORGAN: You seem very grounded to me. I've never met you before, but you seem very grounded.
LEVINE: Enough.
MORGAN: A lot of musicians aren't in my experience. They're sort of paranoid, slightly schizophrenic. It's a weird environment.
LEVINE: You haven't hung out with me for very long.
MORGAN: Where do you get that from? Is it from your parents, your family?
LEVINE: I think I've found balance, you know, through family and through friends and through really wonderful people in my life.
MORGAN: What's the secret for other musicians coming into this business? It seems to me what the modern revolution's doing, it is weeding out the plastic pop brigade. Because actually it's much harder to cheat a live show.
LEVINE: It is. The other thing about our band that I'd love to say, too, is that we've always made our records for the radio. And there was a -- I've always had a slight chip on my shoulder, to be honest with you, because we are musicians. We play. We're great. And we're a band.
There's nothing synthetic about what we do. However, we have made records that have been very tight and very meticulous, very put together for the radio. And our live show is very different, much looser. So there has been some discrepancies over what we do, how we do it, what we are, identity problems as a band.
But I think that more and more with the voice and with the band being more in the spotlight now, we have an opportunity to kind of put all those things to rest.
MORGAN: It's fascinating to watch how Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and you and others have been able to use television in a massively helpful promotional way for your music.
LEVINE: Absolutely. No doubt about it. It's reinvigorated our career. It's kind of reintroducing us to a lot of people, which is fantastic. Because I don't want to stop right now.
MORGAN: What's the personal and professional ambition? Where would you like to be in ten years time? You're 32. You've got it all, as many people would say. When you're 42 years old.
LEVINE: Oh, man. I would love to be working less, because taking this whole thing on all at once was crazy. And it still is. But I'd love to be maybe considering the idea of having a family. And at that age, I'd love to have maybe a two-year-old.
MORGAN: Really?
LEVINE: I want to start having kids, yeah. Not for seven or eight years. MORGAN: Do you believe you should be married to do that?
LEVINE: Not necessarily. I don't think that you necessarily have to be married to have children.
MORGAN: Would you like to be? Is marriage something that you'd like to --
LEVINE: Marriage is a controversial thing, clearly. I find that in a lot of ways, it doesn't work. Then in some ways, it does. I'm inspired by certain marriages. I'm uninspired by others.
MORGAN: Whose marriage has inspired you?
LEVINE: My friend Sean Taya (ph) actually. He's one of my best friends and his marriage is one of the best I've ever seen. It's actually the gentleman who that hat belongs to.
MORGAN: Really? Why do you think it works so well?
LEVINE: Just being very close with him and to the whole thing and actually his daughter's my god daughter and I've seen just the right type of marriage in the two of them. And it really is inspiring. But it also sets the bar very high.
So -- and you know, listen, there's no doubt in my mind at some point I'm going to think about it. But things are going well. And I'm a happy man at this point.
In my relationship, by the way, I don't think that ever reflects -- marriage to me never reflect your real happiness with the person you're with, necessarily. It's a celebration of that happiness, you know.
MORGAN: Where would you like to be professionally?
LEVINE: Professionally --
MORGAN: Other than working less?
LEVINE: Producing records.
MORGAN: Think Maroon 5 will still be going? Do you have an aspiration to have real longevity as a band? Or could you go solo for example?
LEVINE: To make a plan would be really foolish. I don't think I know what's going to happen.
MORGAN: Don't bands always split up? Isn't there always the point where you all just get sick of each other?
LEVINE: Well, I'd love to beat the odds. I'd love to not be a solo artist.
MORGAN: How's the scale of irritation with band members right now? LEVINE: We drive each other crazy. We drive each other out of -- we love each other so much, but we do make each other crazy at points. But I'm a happy man. I can't complain. Life has been pretty kind.
MORGAN: You could complain, but I don't want to hear it.
LEVINE: I could technically complain, but I'm not going to do it.
MORGAN: Apart from anything else, you've also revealed yourself to be a champion nose and chin balancer, which is an even bigger reason to hate you.
LEVINE: Who knew that?
MORGAN: Adam Levine, you're disgusting.
LEVINE: So are you. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) off, Piers Morgan.
MORGAN: And the new Maroon 5 album is "Hands All Over." You can see Maroon 5 on tour this summer with Train. There's more information on the band's website at Maroon5.com.
Adam Levine, repulsive individual, thank you very much.
LEVINE: That was awesome.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MORGAN: Denise Richards. It's hard to believe she's been acting for more than 20 years. She's also a mother and of course ex-wife of Charlie Sheen. Now she's also a first-time author with her book "The Real Girl Next Door."
Denise Richards joins me now.
Denise, with the greatest of respect, you look nothing like the real girls that live next door to me. Or most people.
RICHARDS: OK.
(LAUGHTER)
MORGAN: If only they did.
RICHARDS: Well, thank you.
MORGAN: What's the title about? What do you mean by this?
RICHARDS: Well, what I mean about it is more in being real and being honest and being your authentic self. My authentic self. And it's more about that.
MORGAN: I love this. This is 25 things you may want to know about me right now. Which is actually true because I don't know you that well. I know about you. I like this kind of --
RICHARDS: Well, you think you know about me.
MORGAN: Exactly. I like this. I mean I like -- it's very poignant when you say when was the last time when one my girls asked if her nana, your mother, could see her from heaven.
RICHARDS: Yes.
MORGAN: A sweet thing to say.
RICHARDS: Well, thank you. It's true.
MORGAN: How did you -- how did you answer that?
RICHARDS: I said yes. And actually, I have this in my book. Before my mom passed away three months before she had died she sent some books to her best friend in Chicago and said, when I pass away, give these to the grandkids, my kids. And my sister's kids. And my dad didn't even know she did this. I didn't know she did it.
So the morning that she died she pulled the book out, and my mom wrote a note to my children and said -- I actually have a picture of the note. That she's arrived in heaven and that she would be watching over them and forever be there.
MORGAN: Wow.
RICHARDS: So you know, so I answered yes, that she was in heaven.
MORGAN: That's an amazing thing to have done.
RICHARDS: Yes. And so courageous and brave, knowing that -- you know, she didn't have much time left and she was still taking care of us, even after she had left.
MORGAN: What did she make of your slightly crazy life, your mom?
(LAUGHTER)
RICHARDS: My mom was so great, so non-judgmental. And very fair, you know. And she -- she rolled with the punches. You know, there's times where it got really crazy, she would reassure me that I would get through that time. And she was my best friend and was there from -- as my rock and --
(CROSSTALK)
MORGAN: I've inflicted many things on my mother, but I've never gone back and said mom, good news, I'm marrying Charlie Sheen.
(LAUGHTER)
RICHARDS: She would probably wonder if you do that. But you know, my parents really loved Charlie.
MORGAN: Yes?
RICHARDS: Yes.
MORGAN: I love Charlie.
RICHARDS: Yes, I know. He -- and I did. And you know -- so my parents were actually, even though it was a whirlwind romance and we married very quickly, they were very happy. Whether they said something behind closed doors is another thing. But to me and to Charlie they were very happy and supportive.
MORGAN: Let's see what else we've got here. The one album I can't live without -- I loved this -- Guns and Roses, "Appetite for Destruction." talking of Charlie Sheen.
RICHARDS: I suppose.
MORGAN: You and Charlie hang out to that one?
RICHARDS: We actually did play a lot of Guns and Roses when we worked out together.
MORGAN: I loved Guns and Roses. They were my favorite rock band. You had a slight appetite yourself for self-destruction over the years, do you think?
RICHARDS: No, not self-destruction.
MORGAN: For destruction?
RICHARDS: No. I've always -- you know, even a lot of people like to say -- you know, have I think a different perception of my relationship with my ex-husband than what was really happening. And when we fell in love, he had been sober for three years. He was, you know, getting his life back together. He'd just gotten a job on "Spin City."
And I really admired his strength and courage for overcoming addiction and being so humble about it. And that's what attracted me to him. So the Charlie that some of you have seen over the last six months is not the person that I met and married.
MORGAN: I mean, he sat here. I interviewed him. Did you see that interview?
RICHARDS: I did.
MORGAN: What did you think of it?
RICHARDS: I really -- I thought it was a great interview. And I thought of that time, It was I think one of the more calmer interviews that he did.
MORGAN: I mean, I think because I had met him a few times over the years.
RICHARDS: He told me. MORGAN: And I kind of understood where he was coming from to a certain degree. I suppose like everyone, you kind of look at him slightly aghast and think, I hope this doesn't end in a horrible way, what's going on.
RICHARDS: Right.
MORGAN: And yet, at the same time, I found him incredibly charismatic.
RICHARDS: Mm-hmm.
MORGAN: Very sharp. Very funny. And there's a certain kind of purity to the right of a man or a woman to lead their life how they want to lead it. Now, the exception, as I said to him when he sat there, was until it has an impact on those around you.
RICHARDS: Right.
MORGAN: And that I guess is where you come in.
RICHARDS: Yeah. And we've been split up now for six years. And you know, we'll always have a bond with our daughters. And I wish nothing but the best for him.
MORGAN: When you met him, presumably you knew what he was like to a certain degree.
RICHARDS: I knew what his past was like. And I'm -- one thing about myself and how I was raised and how my parents are, I don't pass judgment. I'm not -- at least for the most part, I like to think of myself as I'm not a judgmental person.
So I wasn't judging him for his past. The person that I met was who I met at that moment.
MORGAN: What was he like when you first got together with him?
RICHARDS: He was amazing. He was so humbled and sweet and charming and funny and had such a great heart, and very honest. And we just had a very deep connection that we had together.
MORGAN: Do you talk to him now?
RICHARDS: Do I talk to Charlie?
MORGAN: Yeah.
RICHARDS: I do. Today we're good.
MORGAN: Today? Today's a good day?
RICHARDS: Today's a good day.
MORGAN: Is that how it works?
RICHARDS: I take it day by day. One day at a time.
MORGAN: Do you know immediately if it's a good or bad day?
RICHARDS: We've had a good stretch now, which is nice.
MORGAN: Is he in a better place now?
RICHARDS: Yeah. We're in a better place. That's what I care about.
MORGAN: And how have you managed that, do you think?
RICHARDS: I think it's not about he and I truly. It's about the kids. And I've always -- you know, in the beginning it was difficult to -- of course there was a lot of different feelings there. But now I take it off of myself and put it on the kids.
His lifestyle's his lifestyle. And I've learned to accept it, even if I agree or don't agree with it. It doesn't matter. He's who he is. He's his own person. So times where things are very calm and cordial with us, I really relish those times, because it's so much better for our kids.
MORGAN: I mean, you don't have another man in your life as far as I'm aware. True?
RICHARDS: I have a lot of male friends. Am I technically -- unattached, yes.
MORGAN: Technically you're unattached, single.
RICHARDS: Technically I'm single.
MORGAN: And he's -- I can't remember the goddess count at the last count, but it seemed to me like they were disappearing quite fast. If Charlie was to sort his life out, could you ever imagine a scenario where you might one day get back together or not?
RICHARDS: No.
MORGAN: That door's closed?
RICHARDS: That door is closed. I think he and I are better as friends and having our daughters. I'm way too old for him now.
MORGAN: You know something, Denise? But you're way more of a goddess than those other two.
RICHARDS: Oh, well, you're very kind. But I'm way past his age range. So --
MORGAN: Let's take a short break. I wanted to come back and talk to you about your journey to Hollywood and also about the fact that you were a Bond girl, which I'd forgotten, which was very exciting.
RICHARDS: Most people have. It wasn't very memorable.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MORGAN: Back with Denise Richards. Now, you played a Bond girl in "The World Is Not Enough" in my hometown of London. And what I loved about this was you were criticized for being too sexy.
RICHARDS: Mm.
MORGAN: How can a Bond girl be too sexy? I mean, seriously.
RICHARDS: That's what I wanted to know. You know, it's very tongue in cheek. But a lot of people criticized me for playing a scientist running around in little shorts and a tank top. But --
MORGAN: That's the best way for a scientist to run around. I had no complaints watching it. I wish all scientists looked like that.
RICHARDS: I definitely got slaughtered in the reviews.
MORGAN: Did you care or not?
RICHARDS: At the time I did. Yeah, it was very hurtful because I had never up to that point gotten bad reviews like that. So yeah, it was tough.
MORGAN: What was it like being a Hollywood starlet?
RICHARDS: Well, it was -- it's very overwhelming. And at the time, I had done "Starship Troopers" and "Wild Things" and they all came out at the same year, and it's -- you know, it's a lot. But it's also great. It's afforded me a lot of wonderful opportunities.
And financially to be able to buy my parents a house and myself, that kind of stuff is wonderful. And to see the world. There's a lot of wonderful things that come along with the job, too.
MORGAN: Do you still love acting?
RICHARDS: I do. Very much.
MORGAN: Is there a huge pressure as a female actress? I mean, they often talk about this as you get a bit older -- and I don't actually know how old you are. But I know you're older than you look, which is always the best answer, right?
RICHARDS: I turned 40 this year.
MORGAN: Did you really?
RICHARDS: I did.
MORGAN: You don't look anything like 40.
RICHARDS: Thank you.
MORGAN: How do you stay so youthful?
RICHARDS: Clean living.
MORGAN: Clean living?
RICHARDS: Clean living.
MORGAN: Really?
RICHARDS: Yeah. When you abuse your body, you know, things happen. I've always been pretty healthy and, you know -- but it's also, I have good genes. And I take care of myself, too.
MORGAN: Did you find it cathartic doing the book?
RICHARDS: In some ways, yeah. I didn't get into some of the nitty gritty details. But I got into more how I felt.
MORGAN: you're very honest in there, I think.
RICHARDS: I'm very honest with the feelings which is --
MORGAN: I can see just having spent the last 20 minutes with you, you're an honest person. You don't shy away from direct questions.
RICHARDS: No.
MORGAN: And you're not afraid to share your feelings.
RICHARDS: Right.
MORGAN: That's an admirable quality, I think.
RICHARDS: It can also be a bad quality, too, I guess.
MORGAN: Do you think?
RICHARDS: I don't know. It depends on the situation.
MORGAN: Well, you said a funny thing at the break. You said there are some times I should really just learn to shut my pie hole.
RICHARDS: That's true. I'm getting better. No, I am very honest. I think that it's a good quality to be honest.
MORGAN: With your relationship with men now, is it hard being Denise Richards from the tabloids, from the TV shows, you know, Charlie Sheen's ex? I mean, does it carry with it a tricky stigma, or have you been able to say no, this is me now?
RICHARDS: I think people that meet me see that I'm who I am. I think dating in general is hard when you're in the public eye and when you have children and trying to -- you know, I don't bring a lot of different men around my children. So it makes dating difficult. If you're out in public with someone for dinner, they -- the media will, oh, who's the mystery man or who are you dating.
So it does get tricky, but it is what it is. MORGAN: What do you look for in a guy now? What have you learned to look for that suits you?
RICHARDS: Oh, I've learned to look for -- the qualities that I look for now are different than prior to getting married and having kids. And now I find myself very a attracted to men who have children. And I think one of the sexiest qualities in a man is seeing a man great with kids. And you know, I have three now, three children. And that's a very attractive quality.
MORGAN: Is motherhood, to you, your greatest achievement?
RICHARDS: I think so. Yeah. I'm very -- I love my kids so much. I love being a mother more than anything. And I get so much fulfillment and joy with my children.
MORGAN: Can you lead a relatively normal life now?
RICHARDS: Yeah. Definitely. You know, for me this is a job. And when I'm home, I'm mom. Taking my kids to school and gymnastics and planning their birthday parties and doing their homework and crafts. And I love all of that.
MORGAN: If they said, mom, we really want to go into acting, given all that you've been through, would you encourage them or would you be slightly reticent about that?
RICHARDS: I would definitely encourage them to do whatever they wanted. I would. I've gotten so much joy from this job and have been blessed with it. And there's a lot of ups and downs, but I think that comes with, you know, different jobs. So if our daughters really wanted to get into acting, I would -- I would wait till they're a little bit out of school.
MORGAN: If it got even worse and they said, you know, mom, I'm not just going to be an actress, but I really want to marry another actor.
RICHARDS: If he's a good man. I wouldn't want someone to judge me for what I do for a living.
MORGAN: Now, you've had some very exciting news recently, which is the adoption of another baby.
RICHARDS: Yes.
MORGAN: Another little break and we'll cull back and talk to you about that. Because it seems to be putting a big smile on your face. Would that be fair?
RICHARDS: That would be fair.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWS BREAK)
MORGAN: Back with Denise Richards. Great news. You just adopted a baby girl, Eloise Joni Richards (ph). The Joni is obviously after your mother. Had you been thinking about this for a while? Is this something that's been on your mind?
RICHARDS: Yeah.
MORGAN: Why? You've already got kids. What was the driving --
RICHARDS: Why are you having another one? You've got two, right.
RICHARDS: I was just curious to your thinking. You're on your own. It's a big thing to take on. What was the motivation to you?
RICHARDS: I think it's a big about thing to take on even if you are with someone. You're having another child. I think it's all in each person, whatever works for them. And before my mom died, I had talked to her about possibly wanting to adopt.
And then I wanted to get through grieving her and some other things. And I started the process about two years ago. And it was something -- I love children. I love being a mom. And I had to make a decision. Do I wait until I meet the right partner, or do I keep moving forward with my life and do it on my own? And I chose to do it on my own.
MORGAN: And how is she?
RICHARDS: She's amazing.
MORGAN: How old is she now?
RICHARDS: She's a month.
MORGAN: A month old. So a very little baby.
RICHARDS: She's a newborn, yeah.
MORGAN: Really exciting.
RICHARDS: Very exciting.
MORGAN: What do your other kids make of her?
RICHARDS: They are so in love with her. They are very protective of her. We kept her quiet for a bit, and my daughters were very protective of her with that. And they love feeding her. They love making her smile. They're very -- they're great big sisters.
MORGAN: I mean, it's a gutsy thing to do. But that comes through in your book. You talk at the end here, you know, what better skill to teach than resiliency.
RICHARDS: Mm-hmm.
MORGAN: Adopting another child right now at your stage of your life with all that's gone on and the fact you're on your own, that's real resilience. RICHARDS: Exactly.
MORGAN: And you won't be expecting this.
RICHARDS: Yeah. She's a blessing.
MORGAN: She really is. You also end the book with a message I want to leave with you is keep looking forward and stay real. I mean, part of the fact you've adopted, I think, is looking forward, isn't it? It's another stage in your life.
RICHARDS: Yeah. I think with the -- a lot of people have gone through a loss and losing a parent especially from your spouse. You really look at life. I looked at life differently and know that we have one life and it's very short. And I want to be a good role model for my kids and be a strong woman, even if it's on my own, you know?
If it's not in the cards right now for me to have a good partner, then that's OK.
MORGAN: Are you enduringly romantic? Do you believe you're going to fall in love again?
RICHARDS: I've had many loves. And I'm not bitter about marriage or have anything negative about men. I love men. I've had a lot of great loves. And I've had a love -- loves.
RICHARDS: How many times have you been properly in love?
MORGAN: Properly in love?
MORGAN: Yeah.
RICHARDS: I don't know. Probably four times, five times.
MORGAN: And do you think that that could happen again? You remain optimistic?
RICHARDS: Absolutely, yes. I love love.
MORGAN: Are you quite excited about that prospect?
RICHARDS: I am. I think things happen for a reason. Obviously, I had to get through so much stuff. During the ugliness of my custody and my mom and some other stuff, I wasn't in a place to be with someone. And I need to be in a good place and feel good about myself and pick myself back up before I would ever be able to give to a partner.
And the last couple years, I feel really good and in a great place. And when it happens, it happens.
MORGAN: In terms of your career, what's next on the horizon for you? The book obviously has taken a lot of time for you to do. What next for you in terms of maybe acting?
RICHARDS: Yeah. I love doing movies. So I hope to start working back in film.
MORGAN: What sort of -- dream role --.
What is it?
RICHARDS: With Quentin Tarantino.
MORGAN: That's right.
RICHARDS: He brings something out of actors.
MORGAN: He's got an almost incredible energy. It's almost contagious. I saw him the other night -- a couple weeks ago at the big royal dinner, the BAFTA thing. He was there. He's like this whirlwind of energy. You feel it if you're around him. I can't even imagine what he's like on a movie set.
RICHARDS: Well, I hope to one day. So that's my dream.
MORGAN: Do you enjoy the interview process or not?
RICHARDS: I have to say, the last few years it's like something always happens right before my interviews that's in the headlines. So I'm glad today was a calm day. It was like everything hits the fan.
MORGAN: No breaking news at all.
RICHARDS: No. So, you know, yes. There's times where it's challenging doing interviews when there's a lot of chaos in my life.
MORGAN: Do you feel sometimes -- when you see all the magazines and stuff, do you feel like you're a soap opera character, not a real person?
RICHARDS: There were times I did, yeah. There were times where it was just absolutely insane. And it's hard. It's hard when -- if you're going through a difficult time and things are public, and it's embarrassing and humiliating and having it all out there, and some of the stories are true, some aren't. And that's really -- that was hard for me.
MORGAN: What was the worst story that you've had to -- that you've seen that's just completely untrue, but most hurtful to you?
RICHARDS: This isn't that hurtful, but it's weird, that I used to be a hooker, I used to be a Heidi Fleiss girl. I heard that rumor. If anyone would know, it would be Charlie. Honest to God. And he would say, she was not. I would know.
MORGAN: He would know.
RICHARDS: But that's like a weird rumor. I don't know where it started. But I've never been a hooker.
MORGAN: Well, good we clarified that.
RICHARDS: But once I heard how much these chicks make, I'm like, wow.
MORGAN: My God, tell me about it. Most of it came from Charlie.
RICHARDS: Exactly
MORGAN: See, I like the fact you can laugh about all that.
RICHARDS: You've got to. I have a sense of humor about all of that.
MORGAN: I think you have to. It's the only way, isn't it?
RICHARDS: Yeah. Otherwise, why be miserable and be pissy about everything.
MORGAN: Given the way you've been able to rebuild your life very successfully, I think, and you seem happy to me, probably the way you haven't been for quite awhile, I would think, not to be impertinent that I would know how you've been. But just from what I can gather. What would you wish for Charlie?
RICHARDS: I just want him to be a very healthy person. I want him to be there healthy for his kids and for himself.
MORGAN: Do you have an optimism that he might sort himself out a bit?
RICHARDS: I do. He's a survivor. If anyone can pick themselves up, make a huge comeback, it's Charlie.
MORGAN: I think you're right. It would be nice to see that.
RICHARDS: He will.
MORGAN: It would be nice to se him make a success of rebuilding himself in the way that you have, I think.
RICHARDS: Oh, well, thank you.
MORGAN: Been a pleasure to meet you.
RICHARDS: Thank you. Nice to meet you too.
MORGAN: Good luck with the book. It's a great read. Very honest and very fascinating. So thank you very much.
RICHARDS: Thank you.
