 |
 |
|
|
|||
|
|
Katie Holmes Interview - from Interview Magazine
Maureen Callahan: When you read a role like Hannah, do you think, Oh, here's yet another Hollywood version of the young girl falling for a man who's old enough to be her father? Katie Holmes: There is the typical Hollywood role of, you know, "the pretty woman" or whatever, but I guess I thought this was more complicated. It wasn't just a crush because he's this good looking guy. And throughout the film she realizes that this person that she spends all this time admiring is not that great. It's what I think a lot of people go through - you put people on these pedestals, and then you kind of take the blinders off. I was really attracted to the role because she's very sophisticated and intelligent. MC: Did you find parallels with yourself now, as opposed to two or three years ago as Hannah? KH: I remember having dinner with [Wonder Boys director] Curtis [Hanson] when I first got to Pittsburgh to start the movie, and I was freaked out [laughs] and told him I was, I guess he saw a lot of me in the character without really even knowing me and I was like, "No! [laughs] You're wrong, I'm not wise beyond my years and not sophisticated." But I guess in the way that I used to relate to Joey's naivete - and still do, to a degree - I've up a little bit since I started three years ago. MC: You keep describing Hannah as sophisticated - are there things about her that you aspire? Or do you see her as pretty flawed and naive? I mean, she is a girl who falls for a fifty-year-old-man. KH: Well, what I guess what's flawed about her is her inexperience. She is naive in the sense that you can be so intelligent and wise at twenty-one and yet you're limited by your experience. So everyone can tell you - and you can know in the back of your head it's true - that this is absurd, but you have to go through it. And I guess that's what charming about her, that contrast. MC: Do you see yourself the same way? KH: I guess I'm pretty conscious of it. I got the opportunity to take a shot at something that I really love to do, but with that comes a lot of responsability and a lot of pressure that you put on yourself. You find yourself trying so hard to be older that you are. MC: Do you think your upbringing affected that? You come from a very tight-knit family, you went to an all-girls Catholic high school-- KH: Sheltered, sheltered, sheltered. MC: Do you feel even more sheltered than a kid who goes to a public school with boys- KH: Exactly! And I first started [acting] I was like, Oh, everyone is so nice and this is so fun and OK, OK, OK [as if calming herself down]. And you start to get a little more comfortable in your own skin. MC: Did your parents really want you to go to an all-girls Catholic school, or was it a choice you made? KH: I had to go to a Catholic high school, but I chose. I like it because it alleviated a lot of pressure. I woke up five minutes before leaving each day, threw on my uniform, and didn't have to worry about anything except my schoolwork. Then when you get out, you're a little socially inept. [laughs] You get around a boy and it's, OK, we have to talk now like you're a normal person? But you're a boy! I'm not used to that! I guess it kinda put off that growing up process a little bit. MC: What were the dances like? Did you have them once a month in the gym? KH: Oh, yeah, we had the obligatory Christmas dance and homecoming. It was a pain cause we all had the same group of friends and it was, like, a rotation of guys. [laughs] The best part was getting a new outfit. MC: Did you feel as socially awkward once you graduated and started working? KH: Because I'm the youngest in my family, I'm used to being around people older that I am. Still I just took it all in and tried not to say much. I still do that because I really don't have much to bring to the table. It's like - I'm twenty-one, you're forty-five- I'll just sit here cause I'm pretty boring. [laughs] MC: Are you worried that you'll be pigenholed as this sweet, naive, quiet girl? KH: [nods] MC: With the exception of Disturbing Behavior and Teaching Mrs. Tingle, you seem to be avoiding the typical teensploitation roles - like the girl who's about to lose her virginity. You play more complicated characters. KH: Right. MC: There must be fierce competition for those parts. KH: [laughs] Yeah. MC: So why do you think you get them? KH: [embarrassed] I don't know. MC: Based on your upbringing, is there anything you wouldn't do onscreen? KH: Um... I don't know. I love trying to be different people and I don't want to limit myself with certain standards I guess. MC: But you don't worry about what your parents will think? KH: Well... I mean I'm not going to lie[laughs]. I was raised Catholic, so you have the guilt and the fear, my parents are really supportive. However, I know that they don't want me to, you know... [trails off] MC: They wouldn't be psyched to see you do a nude scene or shoot heroin? KH: Probably not. But I would LOVE to play a heroin addict! I think it'd be fun. Don't write that. MC: No, that's great. KH: I mean, I want to be on Prozac. In a role. MC: You sound so embarrassed by that. KH: Because it's lame [laughs]. My friends are going to think I'm weird. I loved Magnolia and Happiness. I liked Election. [Movies] that say somthing about relationships or humanity or that deal with feelings, instead of like thrillers. But that's women I think. We like complicated... not to rip on boys... You know what I mean. MC: You seem very, very concerned with offending... everybody. KH: I always apologize for myself. I have to stop. [laughs] MC: Do you feel now that you're several paces ahead of Joey? KH: Yeah. Sometimes you read a Dawson's script and it's like, wait, she's sixteen. So, in a lot of ways I guess I am more grown-up. But I'm not. Not at all. MC: Are there things about her that bother you? KH: Yeah. Sometimes I'd wish she'd just chill out and not be so angry all the time and give Dawson a break, and maybe even get over him. I mean, what is going on? MC: But the Dawson-Joey thing keeps people tuning in, don't ya think? Do you relate that at all? KH: Um... no. I've never really had a Dawson. But you know, it reminds me of when you start liking somebody and you flirt constantly and it's like [frustrated] Just HOOK UP! [laughs] I mean, you know, Kiss. MC: Because your parents are reading this, that's all you'll encourage anyone to do? KH: Yeah [laughs]. |
