Katie Holmes Says Directorial Debut Is for Suri: 'It's More About Her Than Me'

Before you do a double take, take note. Yes, that’s probably Katie Holmes you just spotted on the subway, going shopping or hitting the Guggenheim. Like any New Yorker, the bicoastal actress takes public transportation whens she’s in town.

“Why, don’t you?” says Holmes with a grin. “I always sit on the bench if there’s a bench available.”

You might not recognize her, given that she’s sporting something of a new ’do, which made headlines earlier this week after her hairstylist, DJ Quintero, posted a photo on his Instagram debuting the look:

But not so fast, beauty watchers. Holmes tells us that her shaggy bangs are temporary. She plans to keep them “until I don’t have someone to clip it in anymore!” she says.

This morning, she’s drinking coffee at a banquette in an uptown restaurant. And she’s here to talk about her directorial debut, the drama All We Had, based on Annie Weatherwax’s 2014 novel. The topically timely film stars Holmes as an impoverished single mom grappling with the many hardships, emotional and financial, thrown her way.

There’s a busted car. Unpaid bills. A rotten boyfriend. And very bad home-buying decision. In the credits, she dedicated the film to her daughter, Suri, 10.

“My daughter and I are very, very close. She helped me when I was preparing for it. We have a good time together. It’s more about her than me. It’s my first feature, and when she’s older, I thought it might mean something to her that, yeah, of course I thanked you. She’s my number one,” says Holmes.

Her performance is devoid of vanity, from the rat’s-nest hair to the ill-fitting clothes. And that’s by intent. “The job of acting can be very confused sometimes because we have to sell movies, we have to look good, we have to be glamorous. But that’s not what acting is,” says Holmes.

Her role models are Cherry Jones, Marion Cotillard, Charlotte Rampling, and Cate Blanchett. Their commonality: “A total dedication to the character,” says Holmes.

Plus, a complete embrace of their age and an utter immersion in whatever role they take on. Holmes applied the same principle when playing Rita in All We Had. She parsed every decision, aesthetic and otherwise, while prepping to shoot the film.

“It was months of research and working on it. It takes a long time to make something simple. You have to keep the reality there,” says Holmes. “It wasn’t quick. But it was important to me to be so true to these people. So many people are going through tough times. To make something and not honor them, it’s just wrong.”

Holmes, who grew up in Ohio as the daughter of a lawyer, says the dissonance between her own upbringing and that of Rita’s life was part of what attracted her.

“This character isn’t a part of me,” says Holmes. “Why I wanted to make this movie and play this role is because this character is far from who I am.”

But like Rita, Holmes strives to give her daughter the best life possible. Yes, they’re in vastly different socioeconomic brackets, but the maternal guilt of never being enough cuts through bank balances. “There’s no secret. We’re all trying to balance it. You just keep trying. There’s no recipe. Some days are better than others,” says Holmes.

In person, Holmes is radiant and dewy. There’s a wholesomeness to her and an innate sense of kindness. You get the sense, from the careful way she listens, that she was taught proper manners growing up. On red carpets, she’s a stunner, sticking to a select group of designers. She wears a lot of Zac Posen, mixed with Ralph Lauren and Marchesa.

She donned an intricate strapless Zac Posen dress for the New York City premiere of the film. “That means something to me, because I know how hard he works,” says Holmes. “The creativity and the workmanship involved in creating a gown like that is similar to making a film. It means something to be supported by a friend like that. I always look at it as more of an art form and the two coming together.”

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