August 23 , 2000

by Veronica Mixon

Kevin Williamson, the creator of "Dawson's Creek" and the architect of the recent teen flick craze spawned by his mega-hit films, "Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "The Faculty," makes his directing debut with "Teaching Mrs. Tingle." He says he always wanted Katie for the lead role because she is the personification of a star. Williamson almost cast another actress. "I got this video tape of this little girl in high school in Ohio in a basement and she was reading with her mom. Her mom was playing Dawson. It was so sweet," recalls the writer-director.

Katie Holmes

Katie confirms the story without hesitation or embarrassment. "My senior year of high school, I auditioned for all the new pilots via video camera. My mom and I would get four scripts a month and I'd put myself on tape," she says. "My mom read. In fact, she was Dawson." It was this charming home made screen test that ended Williamson exhausting search for the right actress to portray his sensitive girl from the wrong side of the tracks.

Born and raised in Toledo, her father works as an attorney and her mother is a housewife. Despite her strict Catholic upbringing, her parents have always supported her interest in acting. Katie was so dedicated that she balked at flying out to Los Angeles right away. "They wanted me to test opening night of my school play, 'Damn Yankees.' We couldn't do it," she explained. "Luckily, they rescheduled."

Once Katie was cast in "Dawson's Creek," she endured a major lifestyle adjustment while working and living on location in North Carolina. "It is weird. We're all very young and suddenly, we fighting over the Pottery Barn Catalog and discussing problems about food shopping and laundry. And, it can get kind of lonely but-"

Until last year, she also found herself stuck with a curfew imposed by her parents. "Yes. I think it was like 12:30. That was everyone's curfew in high school - freshman year!" she blushes. "Well, thank God I'm the youngest of five and I have all these brothers and sisters working for me. 'They're like, 'Mom! Come On!' So, I now have more friends." And, how did her parents enforce this curfew? "Well, I guess I don't have a curfew when I'm in North Carolina," she laughs.

Presently, Katie is shooting "Wonder Boy" with Michael Douglas and Tobey Macguire and this fall, she begins her third season with "Dawson's Creek." So far, she has handled fame and hard work nicely. "I've been really fortunate to have been able to work with such amazing people. It does sound kind of cheesy but with 'Dawson's Creek,' I have such great friendships with all of them.

"And, with 'Tingle,' for example, Marisa, Barry and I met and immediately, there was this chemistry between us. We were all just connected to the hips. It was all such fun. And, I think with every project, I've been able to learn something from everyone - working with veterans like Helen Mirren and Michael Douglas and Robert Downey, Jr. and Frances McDormand. Just being in the presence of these seasoned actors and seeing how they deal with everything and how they live their lives. It's been such a learning experience and such an inspiration in so many ways! And, certainly being friends with Kevin - that has been a very pivotal part of my life."

It has been reported that Katie is dating her "Dawson" co-star, Joshua Jackson but she politely refuses to comment. "I tend to - I like to keep all that personal," she says, averting her eyes momentarily. Then she blushes profusely when I ask her about the love scene - the most explicit of her career. According to Kevin Williamson, he had to clip the love scene in this film and Katie liked the original, too. "He's just saying that to embarrass me - and it's working!"