Success Sinking in for Katie Holmes

Success has come quickly for Katie Holmes, and it's still just beginning to sink in.

"I think it will only be when I'm older and looking back that I'll really be able to appreciate what I have now,'' Holmes told the Daily News for Sunday's editions. "Because I'm involved in it, and it's so close, I still can't believe it's happening.''

Holmes hadn't been pursuing an acting career for long when she got her first big break - a role in the 1997 movie "The Ice Storm.'' Her latest film, "The Gift,'' opens Friday.

Holmes, 22, has co-starred in "Dawson's Creek'' since 1998, and she's not looking forward to the day the TV drama goes off the air.

"When it's over, I think it will be like the end of high school,'' she said. "It will be a very hard transition, and very sad.''