Katie Holmes has come a long way since starring in Dawson's Creek as Joey Potter. Now, over a decade since her public divorce from Tom Cruise, the actress has recently forayed into directing and has even collaborated with her 16-year-old daughter Suri Cruise on Alone Together.
In her new Glamour cover, Holmes couldn't help but look back at her journey — from growing up in front of the camera to directing herself in her latest film, Rare Objects.
"Come on, women, let's hold each other up here. Let's look a little bit past what we're wearing," the Batman Begins alum said of her experience as a woman in Hollywood. "That's our duty amongst each other. I feel like the woman's journey is deeper."
During the interview, she also revealed that she had avoided racy parts throughout her career because she's "not sexy." Of course, her fans disagree. Here's what Holmes really meant by that statement.
Why Katie Holmes Thinks She's 'Not Sexy'
When asked about never having been "boxed into playing the sexy young thing or, as you got older, only a mom or a woman who wants to be one," throughout her career, Holmes told Glamour that when she was starting out, "I didn't want to be the sexy young thing."
"I am not sexy," she explained. "I used to have a friend of mine come to all my photo shoots to make sure that they didn't try to make me that way." When asked about the expectations of being "sexier" after Dawson's Creek, the actress said, "Yeah, I guess I just wanted to be an actor."
Speaking of her breakout series, she also shared what it was like joining the cast at 18. "I was just 18 when we started, and I really appreciated the writing because I felt like, as a teenager, I had so many different feelings, trying to go from being a girl to a woman," she said.
"And I felt like [creator Kevin Williamson] had this way of putting words to those feelings," she continued. "So for me, playing that role, I was like, 'Oh, that's what that means. Oh, I get that.' I loved doing it. It was a really fun, profound experience."
Katie Holmes On Directing Herself In Rare Objects
These days, Holmes has also been working behind the scenes. Recently, she directed herself on the 2023 film, Rare Objects. When asked about the experience, the First Daughter star admitted that it was "difficult" to be leading the entire set this time.
"It's difficult in the sense that you’re wearing two hats," she said, "but your most important one on set is the director because you're leading the ship."
She added: "When I stepped into being an actor, in my head, I was [more] aware of time. I was like, I actually have to get this in very few takes because I know what we have left to get tonight. I don't want to hold people up. I worked with an acting teacher prior to prepping the film. So I had my directions in my head for what I wanted to do."
The actress teased that she's currently working on two films. "Well, I'm putting together two films right now. One is a smaller one that Alan Cumming and I wrote together, and it'll be the two of us," she spilled. "And then another project that I'll just direct and we're figuring out casting."
She then noted that it's empowering to be at this point in her career. "I'm always trying to find stories. It's so exciting to have a voice as a woman and put our perspective out there," she said. "You reach a certain age and you're like, 'I think this is interesting.' I finally have the confidence to be like, 'No, I think I’m going to say this. I think I’m going to do this.'"
Katie Holmes On Being A Mom Outside Of Work
Aside from her new directorial passion, Holmes is also grateful to be a parent of a teenage girl. "What has been really important for me with my daughter, because she was so visible at a young age, is I really like to protect her," she said of Suri. "I'm very grateful to be a parent, to be her parent. She's an incredible person."
Suri has actually been credited for singing in Holmes' two recent films. "Yes. I hope she always does something on my films. I always ask her," the latter said of working with her daughter. "But both of those experiences came out of the same sense of what I love about our industry, which is, you have these projects and you become a family with people."
Holmes also emphasized the importance of doing such collaboration in a "safe, beautiful, creative space." She said that "it comes out of love for me to include someone who I love dearly. That's how I like to work. I like to have that kind of feeling. It was very meaningful to me to have her there, because she's my heart."
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