Katie Holmes: From "Dawson's" to "Daughter"

Cute "Dawson's Creek" alum Katie Holmes was one of the lucky actors who landed a role in a hit TV show right after working as a model. Since the "Dawson" days, the pretty brunette from Ohio has done some meaty indie film work that has shown us all that her acting abilities aren't limited to playing innocent small town girls. Through Pieces of April to Phone Booth, Go and The Ice Storm, and now, playing the President's daughter in the romance First Daughter, Katie has demonstrated a range that assures her a big screen slot for quite a while.

Everyone is eagerly anticipating the new action film Batman Begins, due out next year in which Katie stars opposite hot, brooding Batdude Christian Bale. She tells us that she doesn't do any stunts in the film so don't look for her to go all "action chick" on us. Speaking to Katie in L.A., two things immediately struck our attention. She's still wearing that very impressive engagement ring from her man Chris Klein (but she won't talk about the relationship) and she looks very pretty in pink! Katie's Christian Dior sleeveless, low cut blouse was in layers of soft ruffles, netting and silk and she looked great in it. We talked about her "Dawson's" memories, life in the public eye, meeting the real President, her fave book, awesome Vera Wang wardrobe, her own dad/daughter traditions and riding in the Batmobile for her upcoming role in the new Batman film.

TeenHollywood: Who did your blouse? It's gorgeous.

Katie: This is Christian Dior. It's not mine. I borrowed it. So I can't spill anything on it. (We move our drink further away from Katie just in case).

TeenHollywood: Do you think that this film gave you an idea of what it must be like for Jenna and Barbara Bush or other first daughters?

Katie: Definitely. When I was growing up I always fantasized about it. 'Oh God, what would it be like to have your dad be the President? He'd be so powerful and you'd get to live in that big house and wear all these big dresses,' and then you'd read something bad. So it was insightful to go through all of the different clippings from their lives. You 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. And they do have to uphold this certain image and that can be very hard for their souls and a bit oppressive.

TeenHollywood: Well, you had a bit of that kind of pressure with the success of "Dawson's Creek" so can you relate?

Katie: You know, we had such a wonderful set of circumstances in Wilmington (where the series was shot). Yes, the four of us became famous literally overnight, but we were in a small town and we always knew when people (press) were coming. We always knew when we had to behave and most of the time we had a lot of fun. Really, for six years, we had a little bubble where we went to work in every day. We weren't being photographed or anything like that. We could get in fights. We could act up and show up at a local coffee shop in nothing but our PJ's and no one really cared. We were really protected.

TeenHollywood: But, generally doesn't fame of any kind carry a burden?

Katie: Fame does have its set of rules if you want to apply them to yourself. Certain pressures. You want to make sure that you're a responsible person because, when you're in the public eye, people look up to you and especially when you're on a show that's geared toward young people you do want to be a nice role model. As much as you think, 'God, how am I a role model?' Well, you are. So act like one. I feel like I can control how much I want to put out there. And when I feel like I've had too much press or that I'm in a fishbowl or something, I just kind of go home or go on vacation.

TeenHollywood: Would you do another TV series if the right thing came along?

Katie: Yeah. I definitely would. Not right away because I'm still getting over the grind and the time that it really takes and what it takes out of you to do a television show. I had the greatest time doing 'Dawson's', but I got out of it thinking, 'What do I like to do? I don't remember. I haven't had any hobbies for six years.'

TeenHollywood: What are your hobbies?

Katie: Well, I'm still working on it. Reading and painting. Abstract because I need to take lessons.

TeenHollywood: Where are you from?

Katie: Ohio. I still have my family there. They all live in the same city, and my good friends are there. So when I've had enough of Hollywood, I go home and I see people who know me and who I know.

TeenHollywood: When you're away from friends and family, what do you do to keep in touch?

Katie: I spend a lot of money on a phone bill and I do e-mails. My sisters are so sweet. I was in London for a long time and they just know what to send. I'd get a care package of coffee that they know I like and the very subtle stationary and a pillow or something just to make me feel at home.

TeenHollywood: The President and his daughter in the film raid the kitchen for midnight cake snacks. Do you have any father daughter traditions like that?

Katie: Yes. In my family there's no such thing as midnight cake because my dad eats it all. He's a very thin man. He's funny. But lets see, my dad and I go running together. We go for jogs. He got me jogging when I was like twelve and that's where we have our talks.

TeenHollywood: How was that chocolate cake by the way?

Katie: Oh, it was the best. They had all this cake and so I got to take a whole cake home. That was after my swimsuit scene.

TeenHollywood: Did you have an input into your character in First Daughter?

Katie: Forest [Whitaker, the director] and I were in talks for about two months before we started shooting and I had been looking at different versions of this script for close to a year before it came time to begin shooting. So I did have some input, but I'm not a writer. So I just kind of went with it.

TeenHollywood: Have you ever met a President?

Katie: I have met President Bush. Yes. A couple of years ago, I hosted a television special called 'Christmas at the White House.' So I got to introduce him, President Bush and Mrs. Bush. I haven't met the daughters. They were taking exams at the time I was there.

TeenHollywood: What was your impression of the President and First Lady?

Katie: They were very nice. It was amazing to meet them regardless of your feelings about where you stand on the candidates. There's such an amazing energy when you meet a President of the United States. It's just like, 'Oh, God. Wow.' You meet celebrities and you meet movie stars and you go, 'Oh, I've seen you in a movie.' But like, 'Oh, you're the President. Hello.' It kind of takes your breath away.

TeenHollywood: Okay, the Mandy Moore movie. Chasing Liberty was shooting when you were and it's very similar. Any comments on that?

Katie: I did not see Chasing Liberty. I was aware that it was being made. And I never read the script either. Maybe I should have. But I felt like I made the decision to make this movie and I really liked Forest Whitaker. I think that he's just a very talented director. So I just concentrated on making the best movie that I could make with this and I know that they did as well. So I didn't really bother to get caught up in any competition that was created around us.

TeenHollywood: (We show her the poster of the film which is just Katie facing the camera). What do you think of this poster. It's just a big YOU!

Katie: Yeah. It's a little unnerving. I guess I do have nerve. I do take risks. I didn't know that the background would be white and it would literally just be me. But I guess it's kind of like being naked.

TeenHollywood: Well you aren't naked in the film. You wear two gorgeous Vera Wang ball gowns. Did you have input into the outfits you would wear?

Katie: Yes. Well, I wanted to have [my character's] costumes be very, very conservative. My first fitting, it was a lot of clothing that looked a lot like what I wore for six years on 'Dawson's Creek' with jeans and shirts. And I thought, 'I don't think so.' I wanted this character to be relatable, but yet, just a bit more classic in her appearance. She should look a bit not like everyone else. And she does dress kind of much older. I don't know. To me it was important because it was more that royal sense. My favorite gown was the pink one. I actually got to keep it.

TeenHollywood: That purple one is pretty awesome too.

Katie: Yeah. Forest decided on that color purple. That was him. He had this love affair with purple and then last year he had this 'US Weekly' with him and all of these famous actresses were in that same color of purple. He's like, 'See, I was right. I'm ahead of the times.' I was like, 'You're right.'

TeenHollywood: Why pick a romantic comedy?

Katie: It came at a time where I just finished 'Dawson's Creek,' and it was a movie that I felt catered to the audience of 'Dawson's Creek.' So I thought that this could be a good idea. I also just loved Forest. I don't know, I also just liked the idea of this fairy tale movie. I'm kind of a sucker for that. I love doing darker things and edgier things. But sometimes it's kind of nice to just go to the movies and just be happy and escape.

TeenHollywood: Weren't you, at one point, going to Columbia University in New York?

Katie: Yeah. But I shot the pilot for 'Dawson's Creek' and was accepted to Columbia a week later.

TeenHollywood: Any regrets on not going?

Katie: I had my own experience [on 'Dawson's] and we definitely grew up together and did a lot of things. We weren't limited in our ability to be eighteen, nineteen, twenty. We were just very, in one sense, adult young kids. From what my friends tell me who did go to big schools, they're like, 'Oh, you didn't miss anything.' I guess that I'll never know. But I look forward to maybe someday going back and having the experience of being an older student. Some people say that they wish they could go at an older age because they'd learn more.

TeenHollywood: How do you pick a script and is it always part of a career plan you have?

Katie: I feel like this business is so laced in luck. You can do everything that someone tells you to get you to that point, and there's no guarantee. So I think that it's most important to do things that you enjoy doing and that you'll be able to look back on and say, 'Okay, 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 going, 'Yeah, I did all of this stuff and I still never became the next big thing.' It's important for me to just do things that I like.

TeenHollywood: Music. What are you into lately?

Katie: Dave Matthews is in my car and the Ray Charles CD that just came out. U2. Tom Petty and Bob Dylan.

TeenHollywood: Your name is mentioned in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. How do you feel about that?

Katie: I heard about it. But I haven't seen it. It's a compliment. I mean, it's wild. I don't really think about that because I'm just going through my daily life. But it's kind of nice I guess.

TeenHollywood: When you have spare time, do you get to read?

Katie: Humm, in terms of books and not scripts? I'm involved in a book club with my friends at home and then one with my sister. So I go from classics to modern and then to kind of silly light books that are definitely good for plane rides.

TeenHollywood: Do you have a favorite from childhood?

Katie: 'To Kill a Mockingbird' was one of my favorites. But younger than that 'Peter Rabbit' was definitely high on the list. I think that reading puts me in touch with myself and it's like a whole little fantasy world that you get to go into and digest and think about. I really like it

TeenHollywood: Michael Keaton plays your dad in the film. Did he give you any acting or career advice?

Katie: He just told me to stay positive. He had wrapped two weeks before I did on this movie and he said, 'Just don't get too tired because the audience doesn't know the order in which you shot. So you want to make sure that every scene is your best and get your rest.'

TeenHollywood: What kind of workout do you do to stay in shape?

Katie: I do Pilates and I run and I swim in the backyard. At home my parents have a pool.

TeenHollywood: Speaking of water, your character has to slide down a water slide in the movie. How many times did you shoot that? It looks like it was cold outside.

Katie: Probably twenty, but it felt like a hundred. It was fun at first. It was cold, but they have this nice like a baby pool of hot water that you got to sit in when you were finished which was great, but then you get out of it and you're freezing and you have to go down again.

TeenHollywood: Do you have any physical features that you would like to change?

Katie: I don't know. I embrace my imperfections and I wouldn't change my eyes because everyone in my family has the same eyes.

TeenHollywood: Can we talk about your character in Batman Begins?

Katie: Yes. I play Rachel Dawes. I work in the DA's office and I'm Bruce Wayne's good friend growing up. That's all I can say.

TeenHollywood: Do you do any stunt work?

Katie: It's more of a talkie role. I'm not into stunts. I'm not one of those girls. I like it real easy.

TeenHollywood: How many Batman films are you signed up for?

Katie: Let's just say that they can have me if they want me for two more.

TeenHollywood: It's a big effects movie. That's new for you. Was it hard?

Katie: Yeah. I actually found it to be more challenging to be in a huge FX movie because a lot of things aren't there. So you have to trust the director and react to nothing. And with this particular project, the cast was very appealing. I was just so thrilled to be with these people. I was like, 'I have to do this so right and perfect.' So I think that if I get to be in another one maybe I'll relax a bit.

TeenHollywood: Christian Bale has done effects movies before. Did he help you out?

Katie: (smiles) Well, I didn't tell Christian that I was having a problem. Everything was fine. [Laughs]

TeenHollywood: Do you see your role in Batman as a transition for you into more adult roles?

Katie: I hope that I as I get older and mature that I'll be able to play more adult like roles and I hope that it'll happen naturally. Doing 'Batman,' I think will be helpful because it's a movie that brings a lot of exposure. But I really was just so excited to be a part of something with such a history. I mean, 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?'

TeenHollywood: Do you ride in it in the film?

Katie: Yeah. It was 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 am in love right now and all I want is that car.'

TeenHollywood: Wow, did you drive it too?

Katie: No. It's kind of a complicated car with computers.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.