KATIE HOLMES | TOM CRUISE

Hilary Duff

An Interview with Katie Holmes
October 15, 2003 - Many of the teens of the various WB and WB-style shows have gone on to the most predictable teen movie roles of slasher flicks and sex comedies. Katie Holmes is the exception. She's worked with an interesting array of directors, from Sam Raimi to Doug Liman to Joel Schumacher. She's taken the kinds of roles that more experienced actors would take after they have come to the realization that their career has gotten a little stale.

Holmes' latest film, Pieces of April, is the feature debut of Writer/Director Peter Hedges, the man responsible for writing What's Eating Gilbert Grape and About a Boy. She plays April, who lives in a lower east side Manhattan apartment with her boyfriend, Bobby (Derek Luke). She is preparing a Thanksgiving dinner for her family, whom she's never really gotten along with. As the family outcast, April is trying her best to make a good impression and hopefully make amends with her dying mother (Patricia Clarkson).

In person, Holmes is of course beautiful, with an incredible smile that lights up the room. Yes, it's clich�d but, in this case, it just happens to be true. Holmes' height is surprising at first, standing over six feet in heels. She sits in a chair when I come into the room, looking a little exhausted from the barrage of interviews and undoubtedly similar questions. I try to keep my cool as I sit on the couch and hope I have a few interesting questions for her.

IGN FILMFORCE: When did you first hear about this project?
KATIE HOLMES: Two years ago. I was a big fan of Peter's from Gilbert Grape so I was really excited to meet him. I was just really moved by [the script]. I thought it was very realistic in its portrayal of family dynamics and a family going through a crisis like this, a sickness. But very comedic and very well balanced. What I really enjoyed is that it left a lot at the end for you to imagine for yourself and it didn't have any scene where you were told how you were supposed to feel. It wasn't handed to you as the reader. So, I met Peter and I kind of bugged him to give me a shot and he did. So, about a year later we ended up shooting this movie, and thank God for InDigEnt (the distributor for April) because they came and they saved the day and they got to make this movie.

IGNFF: Pieces of April really bridges the gap between comedy and drama, often very quickly. How did you handle such sharp changes in the emotional tone of the film?
HOLMES: For me the blend of the two and the balance of the two parts of the whole movie is what made me want to do the movie. When I met Peter, I just thought he was a terrific man, and I was very excited to work with him. By the time we got to shooting it, I had to set aside all of those thoughts in my head and just go with the scenes that I was scheduled to do. Really just focus on the scenes individually and, if it called for comedy, to go for that and if it called for more emotion, to go for that. But, I couldn't really sit there and say, 'How do I make this funny and sad?' It either happens or it doesn't. What was fun about playing this character is that for the whole movie, she's ready to burst in some ways and she's holding it in. She's got all of these emotions and these thoughts that she doesn't know what to do with, and she has kind of pushed them way, way down. And now it's time for everything to come to the surface. A lot of people do that. Especially with major things that are scary to them, so it was kind of fun to have those kind of stored emotions inside and then drop a turkey. Those things happen in life. You're having a bad day and, of course, if you happen to do something normal like get some gas or something, you'll spill the gas all over you that day or something silly just because you're so frazzled. Peter definitely captured that.

IGNFF: Peter Hedges mentioned that you often don't get the chance to do comedy but you're actually really funny. Is that a side you are looking to express more?
HOLMES: I'd love to do more comedy. I learned a lot from Peter on this movie because he is very specific in what he wants to achieve in a scene and in the whole movie. A lot of the things, he would be laughing at and I'm like, 'Was that even funny?' But his style is so reserved and it's all about holding back... By holding back, you kind of highlight things [and] pronounce things more, if that makes sense. So, it kind of opened my eyes to smarter ways of acting. He gave me a lot of insight.

IGNFF: Was Hedges ever hesitant or unsure in his direction in any way, this being his first feature?
HOLMES: He's very self-deprecating. He's funny. You know, I'm sure he was probably very nervous at having sixteen days to make his whole movie. I did Phone Booth, and that was shot very, very quickly, but that was Joel Schumacher, who's shot so many movies that, if anybody can figure out how to do it in a couple of days, it's him. So I'm sure Peter was... It wasn't easy for him, but he was such a leader throughout the whole process. You never felt like, 'Oh God, what is he doing?' He was always working his hardest and we all had times where we were like, 'Can I just go home and start again tomorrow?' But he was a real trooper and a real leader. He's one of my favorite directors to work with. He was amazing.

IGNFF: Near the end, there is a scene where Derek Luke runs up to the apartment to tell you that your parents have arrived. He has just been in a fight and is bleeding, but he doesn't care. That's how strong his love is for your character. To me, this is the pivotal moment of the story.
HOLMES: That sequence is one of my favorites because it's so sweet, when he runs up to the car, because he's so excited. Bobby is such a caring, beautiful person. So is Derek (who plays Bobby). I love when he comes up, the scene you were referring to, because then April doesn't want to go see her family. She wants to clean up his face. They both are so selfless in that moment. It just is another area where they show how much they care for each other and time kind of stops when they are together. I thought that was really sweet. And it is jarring.

IGNFF: You are in The Singing Detective, which comes out the week after Pieces of April. How does working with Keith Gordon (Director of Singing Detective) compare to Hedges?
HOLMES: You know, they're both similar in the great way that they... I think they both really enjoy what they're doing, and they're very passionate. They want to give you as many chances as you want. And both of them would give a little insight on the scene or they would let you know what they were thinking and then just let you go and go and go. Both [are] very supportive. I really enjoy working with Peter and Keith. Keith is a lovely, very gentle human being and that's the way he directs. He just kind of [says], 'I really liked what you did. Maybe you could try it like this.' Just very sweet and that's nice.

IGNFF: Robert Downey, Jr. said that he didn't really get The Singing Detective when he first signed on for the role. Did you understand the script when you first read it?
HOLMES: I had to read it a couple of times because I wasn't familiar with the BBC version. ...I met with Keith and some of the producers and I loved his ideas and it sounded like... I loved the part of Nurse Mills and to have a chance to work with Robert Downey, Jr. in a role that I thought he was just going to take and run with, which he did. It was really fun. I don't think I really knew what was going on when I was doing it. It is a very tricky movie. Keith Gordon is a genius. I just enjoyed it so much. It was great. What an experience to work off of one of the greatest actors of many generations.

IGNFF: In the end of Pieces of April, Hedges uses a series of still photos to tell the story. What did you think of that, and did you actually shoot those entire scenes or did they strictly shoot the stills?
HOLMES: No, we shot it. [The decision] was made later I think. I was really happy with it. I think it kind of... you kind of get the whole movie at the sound of the clicking of the camera. I guess I never really noticed that sound before until I saw the movie and I was like, 'You know what? There is something about that sound, freezing time, that drums up a lot of emotion.' You always take that photo at a pivotal time in life. I was really happy with it. I really liked that there wasn't a scene after that between Patty and myself or we talk about how much we mean to each other. You can imagine what you want as the audience member and I think that all that needed to be said was said. Less is more was definitely the kind of mantra of the movie.

IGNFF: Are there particular roles you stay away...
HOLMES: (interrupting) Porn.

IGNFF: What's that?
HOLMES: (grinning ear to ear) Porn. P-o-r-n Porn.

[LAUGHS]

IGNFF: So, have you ever encountered the fan that thought you are [Dawson's Creek's] Joey Potter?
HOLMES: Yeah, well... there would be some very pro-active enthusiastic fans that would come to Wilmington sometimes. Some people, it was very sweet, they would get engaged during the show because it meant so much to them. Somebody was telling me a couple this summer flew down to North Carolina and he proposed to the woman on the dock that we used to film on. So, some of that stuff is kinda like, 'Wow, I think this means more to you than it did to me. Wow.' But it's fun. I'm sure I've been a crazy fan to people as well.
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