Interview: Katie Holmes Spends "Mad Money"

Katie, Tom and Suri are constantly on the covers of every tabloid in the world. People forget that, before she was a mom and married to one of the most high-profile stars on the planet, Katie Holmes was a talented, well-known actress and she's back with flair, comedy, spunk and warmth in the new film Mad Money. Katie's character Jackie bops to her I-Pod while pushing carts full of cash on the way to be shredded at the Federal Reserve Bank. Along with two co-workers (played by Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah), Jackie decides to "recycle" a ton of that money into her own pocket in the funny heist movie.

Katie is one long, tall, model-esque babe. She walked into our interview recently at a posh L.A.-area beach hotel wearing subtle black and white plaid slacks, high black heels and a crisp white, guy-style shirt. Her sleek new bob hairdo suits her very well and her blue eyes just popped under her smoky eye make-up. Jewelry consisted of a big, leather-banded watch, her kind of plain wedding band and several other subtle diamond rings; class all the way. Because we have class too, we avoided asking her a ton of tabloid-style questions in favor of getting the latest news on the film, her career, being a mom, her first big splurge when she knew she had made it and her Valentine's Day traditions. What about that new Andrew Morton book on her hubby Tom? She says she doesn't plan to read it. So there! On with all things Katie....

TeenHollywood: I love your new hairdo.

Katie: Thanks! It's real easy.

TeenHollywood: Your hair is kinda big and wild in the movie. Did you have input into Jackie's wardrobe and hair?

Katie: Definitely, which is part of the fun in creating the character. That was my hair. It allowed for a long time in the makeup trailer.

TeenHollywood: What did you, Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah learn from each other? What did you chat about?

Katie: We had great conversations about so many different things. These women are so talented and dynamic and we were talking about film and the new movies coming out and we talked about architecture and interior design and fashion and clothing lines and music and makeup and bras [laughs] and kids and raising kids and being daughters. It was like a women's fest.

TeenHollywood: Sounds like great girl-talk. How did you see your character Jackie? What did you like about her?

Katie: She was very different from any other role I've played and I was sort of enthralled by her sense of adventure. She was carefree. She was very abstract in a way and there was a lot to create with her. You could read this role and a million ideas would come to mind. I liked her physicality. I liked the dancing. She was odd and I liked that. She is a kind of forgotten soul, like, 'Oh, there's that girl who everybody thinks is weird and doesn't talk to you.' It does take somebody who had instinct and a sort of wisdom to take on this adventure. She is a creative person and I also thought her love for her husband was very sweet and I liked their relationship. I thought they were a very funny, warm couple. And I loved the way that she was very open to going on this adventure with people that she'd just met. 'Cool. Why not?' And it's fun to play people who say 'why not?' instead of posing problems.

TeenHollywood: Was dancing with an I-Pod in your ear and pushing a big cart an easy thing to do while surrounded by a crew and castmates?

Katie: Yeah. You get over that when you're working. It's just part of the environment and so it was fine. I had a good time with it and it was important to me to find the character and what I had to do to make her real for me.

TeenHollywood: What were you listening to?

Katie: It was a lot of the music that you heard in the film, the soundtrack.

TeenHollywood: Was there a time when you finally knew you could make enough money to support yourself and everyone in your family?

Katie: Well, I was seventeen when I did The Ice Storm. It was creepy. Intense. But then when I got 'Dawson's Creek' I was eighteen and I had just graduated from high school and, in my eyes, I thought I was making a lot.

TeenHollywood: What did you go and buy?

Katie: I did what every other girl who was eighteen and from where I was from did. I bought jeans and a great sweater that weren't on sale. I thought, 'Wow. I better not buy anything for a really long time. I don't want to let it go to my head.' So that was my big splurge and I still have the sweater. I won't give it up.

TeenHollywood: How did you first get into the business anyway?

Katie: When I first came here, I came with my mom when I was sixteen to do a million auditions that composed TV pilot season. It was amazing of my parents to let me, this girl from Ohio. I went to a modeling and talent convention and I got a manager there and then they said to come out and my mom and I came out after my dad made sure that it was all okay and came and checked everything out. We were at The Oakwood Apartments in Burbank. We came in January and I think of this every January because I packed all of my shorts and t-shirts because I was from Northwest Ohio and I thought, 'California! I'm going to get so tan.' We froze [laughs]. I learned how to drive in Los Angeles. My mom drove me, but we got lost so many times that I now know how to get everywhere and I know every shopping center everywhere because that's what we did. What else do you do? You don't audition all day.

TeenHollywood: You've come a long way. How is life and family and motherhood right now?

Katie: It's great. We had a great holiday and we had a big family celebration with my whole family and Tom's whole family. It's nice to check in around that time of year and see everyone feeling good.

TeenHollywood: It seems like you've really settled into this life after a very whirlwind start. Is that accurate?

Katie: Well, I never thought that it was a whirlwind. It was a lot of attention all at once and I had never had that attention obviously, but I always knew that [was coming] when I met Tom and it was like, 'Okay, when? Sure. Yeah. Right on. Lets do it.' So I've always felt very comfortable and happy with everything. You learn more and more every day and then when you have a child it feels like you're reading an encyclopedia a day and you're always behind because children grow so fast and they're so magical. She's so magical. So things are good. [As for motherhood], I feel very prepared and I'm so inspired by my mom and I want Suri to feel as happy as I've always been in my life.

TeenHollywood: Valentine's Day is coming. Do you have a favorite love song or any plans, any old traditions?

Katie: I do love a good love song. I like to shop to them and it does make me buy more in the store. It really does. I like making a big deal out of a lot of things. So, yes. I like to have a whole day. I like surprises with the whole family. It's an event. It's fun and I like sending Valentines. But I went to an all girls high school and every Valentine's Day they would announce who got flowers [laughs], waiting in the office. So I got very used to the importance of giving other women Valentines and receiving because my name was never called, never and I didn't have any money to send them to myself. Hopefully they've stopped that procedure.

TeenHollywood: Do you find all the crazy paparazzi who follow you around kind of funny or annoying?

Katie: I wouldn't call it humorous. But it's just there. I don't know. It's sort of like, 'Do we have paparazzi or do we not have paparazzi?' If you have them you know how to handle it and if you don't then okay, but it's not yea or nay. It's just like, 'Okay, what's on the agenda today?'

TeenHollywood: Let's talk more Mad Money. You went on a tour of the real Federal Reserve Bank where the movie thefts take place, right?

Katie: Yeah. It was really interesting. I'd never been before. Nice people. It's a hard job because it never changes. You're looking at all this money, and you aren't making any money, so [not wanting to take some], is hard.

TeenHollywood: How was working with Diane Keaton?

Katie: People like myself and I know Dana [Queen Latifah] and I'm sure Mandy [Moore], it's so exciting to learn from her and see how she works. The movies she's done have inspired all of us, so we're wondering 'what's Diane thinking?' It's really amazing. We've learned a lot from her.

TeenHollywood: Your character Jackie and her hubby buy a big RV with their mad money. Do you ever wish you could just pack Tom and Suri into an RV and drive across America and nobody would recognize you?

Katie: Do I have to drive? [she laughs]. Hey, it's a big responsibility. I do love road trips. I think that would be a family adventure, for sure.

TeenHollywood: What sorts of roles are you being offered nowadays, Katie?

Katie: Actually, I've read some interesting period pieces, which I love. I've seen some great thrillers so there are good female roles out there but it's not 10 for 10. One out of 10.

TeenHollywood: Does having a very young child limit the number of films you take on?

Katie: It depends on the role. Its finding a balance. I don't want to say I'll only do this amount a year because that's not how life works. You have to look at what's happening in the next three months. Where are we in (Suri's) ages and what's going on in her life? It's really on a project-by-project basis. But I had a great time working on this film. I love working and being a mom. It's something I look forward to doing and, when it happens, I'm like 'why did I wait'? It's so much better.

TeenHollywood: Well, there's the writers' strike but you can always work for United Artists (note: Her husband Tom Cruise is co-owner and they have signed an independent deal with the Writers' Guild).

Katie: [smiling] That's right!

TeenHollywood: This was the first film you made after having Suri. She was a tiny thing and you brought her to set with you?

Katie: Yeah. It was great. My trailer had a high chair and teddy bears. It was wonderful.

TeenHollywood: Do you ever have a chance to go back and watch "Dawson's Creek"?

Katie: I've seen all the episodes. We'd get them in advance. I'll watch one when I catch one. But I feel like I've seen them all.

TeenHollywood: When you see yourself back then, do you feel that that is just another human being up on that TV screen; somebody entirely different?

Katie: No. I had great fun, fond memories and great people. But, it is like looking at a yearbook.

TeenHollywood: Why should audiences look forward to seeing Mad Money?

Katie: I was excited to be part of a movie with great female characters and I loved seeing a lot of women on screen and having a female director and I'm excited for women, and men too, to go in and have fun. They're interesting characters.

TeenHollywood: Would you do a Mad Money sequel?

Katie: In a heartbeat.

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