Entertainment
Katie Holmes: Simply Irresistible
Written by Abbi Toushin |
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 If there's one undeniable quality that can forever be linked to actress Katie Holmes it's that she's absolutely, undisputedly, adorable. So likeably adorable, in fact, that when asked about her and fiancé Chris Klein's wedding plans at a recent interview promoting her new movie, First Daughter, it doesn't dissuade one in the least that Holmes just slyly grins, cups her hands together and says, coyly, "That's just between us, but thank you for asking."
With her luminescent hazel eyes, megawatt smile and warmly familiar facial expressions, Holmes -- most widely known for her six-year stint as lovesick tomboy Joey Potter on the WB teen drama Dawson's Creek -- is the kind of girl who, if given the chance, could be in line to be Hollywood's next Reese, Nicole or Julia. But, according to the actress -- whose romantic comedy First Daughter opens wide September 24 -- her main prerogative in the entertainment industry is to simply carve out her own path.
"I feel like this business is so laced in luck. You can do everything that somebody tells you will get you to that point, and there's no guarantee," says the 25-year-old Holmes, who sauntered into this interview at the posh Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills wearing low-rise Mogg denim jeans paired with a frilly, borrowed, baby pink Christian Dior top. "I think it's more important to do things that you enjoy doing and that you'll be able to look back on and say, 'I did have a career, I did sacrifice a lot to do that wonderful thing that I loved, and I'm proud of what I did' instead of, 'yeah, I did all this stuff and I still never became the NEXT.' It's important for me to just do the things that I like."
Perhaps that's why, after being catapulted to instant stardom via her role on the popular Dawson's Creek, which wrapped in 2003, Holmes is now taking pains to pick and choose roles that appeal to her liking. Last October she starred in the critically lauded indie Pieces of April for MGM, in which she plays the black sheep of her overtly suburban family. And now, a year after the end of Dawson's Creek, she headlines director Forest Whitaker's First Daughter for 20th Century Fox, in which she takes on the title role of Samantha Mackenzie.
In the film, which bears an overwhelming plot resemblance to January's Chasing Liberty ("I was aware that it was being made. I was concentrated on making the best movie we could make with this and I know they did as well, so I really didn't bother to get caught up in any competition that was sort of created around us," says Holmes), Samantha, the only child of the current U.S. president (Michael Keaton), is planning to go off to college. She's lived a privileged -- albeit sheltered -- life up to this point and is now yearning for an existence of her own and just a sliver of independence. Although she arrives at the fictional, Southern California-based Redmond University via presidential motorcade and is constantly flanked by suit-clad secret service agents and hounded by the paparazzi, Sam still holds out hope that she'll somehow fit in.
 Her simple dream begins to take shape in the form of handsome coed James (Marc Blucas), a grad student and resident advisor who sees Sam for who she truly is. He's a stand-up kind of guy and, on their first outing together, James helps Sam ditch her heavy security and the press by disguising her in a baggy sweatshirt and old baseball cap. After a couple of dates the pair fall head over heels for each other, and everything seems perfect until, much to her dismay, Sam finds out that James is -- gulp -- actually an undercover secret service agent under her father's employ.
Needless to say, Sam is not too jazzed about her discovery. She understands, however, that she IS in need of extra protection because of her heightened public visibility.
"When I was growing up, I always fantasized about, 'oh God, what would it be like?' I mean, having your dad be the president and be so powerful and you get to live in that big house and wear these big dresses," says Holmes, whose character in the film, when granted a little bit of freedom, goes a little bit too wild and finds her picture on the front pages of some of the nation's biggest publications. "I used to always think, you read something bad [about the children in the first family] and it's like, 'why are they acting up? They're presidential children.'"
"So it was sort of insightful to go through all of the different clippings from their lives and all of the nasty things written. And some good things," she adds. "You sort of start to appreciate the level of their fame and how much pressure they really are under and how their lives, for a certain amount of time, are not their own."
As an actress with a seemingly evolving film and television career, Holmes -- who next stars in director Christopher Nolan's (Memento) highly anticipated Batman Begins alongside Christian Bale -- also finds herself having to deal with the same kinds of extraneous pressures. While she's not in the spotlight because of her father's domestic policies or international initiatives, Holmes -- whose other credits outside of Dawson's Creek include The Ice Storm (her first feature), Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Go, Abandon, Wonder Boys and The Singing Detective -- finds that she also has to keep her behavior in check because she is, want to be or not, a role model to many young girls.
"I do understand that fame does have its certain set of rules, if you want to apply them to yourself. Or, I guess not rules, but pressures. You want to make sure that you're a responsible person because you are moving around in the public eye and people look up to you," she says. "And especially when you're on a show that's geared towards young people, you do want to be a nice role model. And as much as you think, 'god, how am I a role model?' Well, you are. So act like one."
The pressures of celebrity and public awareness aside, there are, according to Holmes, quite a few perks to working in the film industry. One in particular, as she pointed out, was getting the chance to ride in the sleek, historic comic book car the Batmobile on the set of the aforementioned Warner Brothers film, Batman Begins.
 "It is SO cool. I saw the Batmobile take off and go down the street and I was like, okay, I get it. I get why guys love cars. I'm in love right now and I wanted that car," coos Holmes, a wide grin now adorning her shimmery face. "I'm so excited to be a part of something with such history -- and the experience was awesome. Every day that I was on set I was emailing my friends, 'I just rode in the Batmobile! Ha ha. What are you doing?'"
Apparently, they weren't getting the once-in-a-lifetime experience of riding in the caped crusader's oh-so-sexy car. But, because Holmes is so adorable, the only acceptable emotion is to just smile and be happy for her.
First Daughter opens in theaters everywhere September 24.
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