Katie Holmes
Katie Holmes began her film career with a small role in Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm before her propelling into teen stardom by the hit TV drama Dawson’s Creek brought the young actress big roles in films like Disturbing Behavior, Teaching Mrs. Tingle and The Gift.
Before her career became overshadowed by her personal role as the wife of Tom Cruise, Holmes had made inroads in her post-Dawson’s-Creek career with roles in Phone Booth, Batman Begins, and Thank You For Smoking. Now after a stint on Broadway, the 31 year-old returns to film with her latest role as Laura in the new romantic comedy The Romantics.
In the film, Katie plays Laura, a maid of honor whose former flame is the groom of the wedding, played by Josh Duhamel. She says it’s the film’s “love triangle” that first attracted her to the role.
“Well, I think that the love triangle of this film is really one of the things that I found wonderful about the movie,” Holmes says, “And these conflicts are something I think many people go through and it makes for a good film.”
Holmes elaborated with us on what attracted her to the role.
“I was signed to play Laura from the start,” she says, “I really loved this when I read it and I loved the feeling and to me, it felt a lot like The Big Chill and St. Elmo’s Fire, I thought, and also, a little bit of a John Hughes feeling and I always loved those movies growing up.”
“And then, I met with [director] Galt [Niederhoffer] and I thought she was really so smart,” Katie adds, “And the cast started coming together and it was something that was really exciting, just the feel of it and the look of it and the people that were involved in it was really exciting. The look of the movie is very French in a way.”
We asked Katie if she had to draw upon any
Katie Holmes
“Hopefully not as bad, but yes,” she replies, “I think, that’s the beauty of friendships and that’s what you see in this film. When you have real friends, you can be all of those things and people love you for it.
“And I think that’s what feels good about watching this movie,” Holmes continues, “And what felt good being in this movie and portraying these people, you can portray people who are real and they have their ups and downs and they have this family around them that’s been through it all. And if you’re lucky to have people in your life, it’s wonderful, so this film also celebrates friendship.”
Holmes says that she feels fortunate her own personal relationship is free from any of the emotional pitfalls of her character in the film.
“I think my husband has red roses for me everywhere I go, whenever we travel,” Katie enthuses.
As previously stated, Katie took a hiatus from film acting to do a revival of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons on Broadway in 2008. She spoke highly of the experience and expressed it was something she would love to do again,
“I love doing Broadway,” she says, “It’s so much fun and I loved the cast and the community was so welcoming and wonderful. I really appreciated that and I enjoyed every single night so I can’t wait to go back to theater. I don’t know, but I’m very excited to go back.”
Holmes was asked if she would ever consider a role in a movie musical down the road.
“I love to sing and dance, so anytime,” Katie replies.
Katie was asked about whether The Romantics will establish Katie firmly ad an adult actress in film.
“I don’t know,” Holmes says, “I really don’t know, but I’ve really enjoyed my time with my daughter and with my family. So it was also great to work with this wonderful cast and
Katie Holmes
“So it was really inspiring every single day because you’d watch somebody else do a scene and be like, ‘Oh, my God! OK. Wow! I didn’t know that’s what it was all about,’” she continues, “Like they brought something so different and wonderful, so it was such a great time. I think that’s why we all still hang out. We go to dinner often and it’s just we’re a tight-knit group.”
