Breaking the teenage mould

Dawson's Creek actress Katie Holmes comes into her own in Peter Hedges' Pieces of April

Renowned for her role as Joey in the hit television series Dawson's Creek, Katie Holmes is carefully rising to the top of Hollywood's A-list heap as one of the industry's young bucks to watch. With roles in such diverse pictures as Wonder Boys, Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Go, Phone Booth and Abandon, the 25-year-old actress confirms that she's more than just a quirky face.
Holmes stretches her thespic abilities in writer Peter Hedges' (What's Eating Gilbert Grape) directorial debut Pieces of April. Shot on digital in 16 days on a miniscule budget (so small that it didn't allow for catering, trailers or even extras), the surprise success at the Sundance film festival stars Holmes as the title character who invites her family for Thanksgiving dinner, but she and her mother (Patricia Clarkson) rarely seem to get along. Not helping matters is the fact that her mother is dying of cancer. Oliver Platt stars as April's father, while Derek Luke plays April's boyfriend.
Tandem talked to Katie Holmes when she was in Toronto recently.

This film is a totally different spin for you.
"Yeah, it was nice to do something different from Dawson's Creek. When you play the same character for nine months out of the year, it gets kind of stale and you get very uncomfortable. So I think it's smart to try to find challenges outside of that and Pieces of April definitely provided a challenge for me that was very different was Dawson's Creek so I really enjoyed it."

Would you take another film role that resembles Joey or would you try to stay away from that?
"I did a movie this summer that was First Daughter, which was a little similar to Joey Potter, which was probably the character that's closest to her. But my main goal is to find good material and do movies that make people feel good or make people feel actually. So I just want to do a lot of different things, it's not really a conscious decision to depart from Joey or anything like that. I think you just have to try many different things."

Speaking of making people feel, this movie obviously brought a lot of different emotions out for everyone. Did it touch you in any way?
"Definitely. It was a wonderful opportunity and a lot of fun to play a character like myself in her mid-twenties on her own and trying to figure it all. And I think a lot of different people can relate to many different characters in this movie. There's so many different ages represented in this movie and so many different stories. What moved me the most was just all the different journeys these people took, especially April; you meet her and she seems very hard and very edgy and she sort of has this 'don't-mess-with-me' kind of an attitude. And to see someone like that deal with a disease and deal with family, I think everybody relates to and it's dealing with relationships that are important to you and it's not easy. The journey she takes and really the journey that they all take, really kind of affected me and I thought that Peter's writing was realistic and a nice balance between comedy and drama. It just felt really genuine."

You play a goth artist in the movie. Was it fun to shed your physical image?
"Yeah it was a lot of fun. I mean it was helpful because you put all that stuff on and it makes you completely change and you feel different and you're half way there. Some days I felt like it was Halloween and I was like 'Oh no, people are just gonna think I can be some serious actor because I put a wig on.' I was like 'Oh I hope this turns out okay.' But I really enjoyed it."

What's your favourite Halloween memory? Favourite costume that you had, even in your adult life?
"My mom made me a clown and she's a really good seamstress so that would be my favourite because it was really colourful. I'm not afraid of clowns. I'm one of the only people I know who's not afraid of clowns. Anyway it was fun. And then one time, my sister made my basement into a haunted house - in the second grade - and it was pretty fun."

Do you celebrate Halloween?
"Oh yeah. I had a Halloween party a couple years ago. And my friend had one last year and I think we're going to one this year. Our business is very busy, you're always working, you have to celebrate the holidays, you know, take time to be crazy and enjoy the innocence of the holidays."

You had some pretty emotional scenes with Derek Luke. How was he to work with?
"Derek and I met a couple of days before we started shooting and we had a little rehearsal time, but really it was just to introduce us to the apartment and Peter was there and we just talked about some of the scenes. But it is always kind of awkward when you don't know someone very well and suddenly you're crying in front of them. And it's wonderful when you're working with somebody as talented and as caring as Derek is and it kind of eliminates the fear that you have."

After Dawson's, which of course was a big success, do you want to stay away from teen genre? This is the role that Dawson's fans aren't going to expect from you. Are you ready to go to the next level?
"I am getting older. I'm definitely not a teenager anymore and I'm excited to do more adult roles. And, you know, I'll see what happens, if I can handle the next phase of my career, my life, all of those things. And I don't really want to do another teen show or another teen movie because I feel like I spent a long time doing that and I think it would be a lot of more challenging to do something a little more adult."

You're also co-starring in The Singing Detective opposite Robert Downey Jr. How was that?
"I really enjoyed making The Singing Detective. I suppose because of Dawson's Creek, because of the parametres we had on the show which needed to be there because it was a teen show, it became just very much the same job everyday. So subconsciously it became an effort to do something wild and freeing. I'll never forget working with Robert. He was amazing. I just wanted to do a good job because he's very inspiring to me and I'm a big fan of his."
Pieces of April opens in local cinemas on November 7.

Publication Date: 2003-11-02
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3309