Katie Holmes Reflects on What Made 'Dawson's Creek' Special, Talks New Film 'Alone Together' (Exclusive)

Katie Holmes knows that Dawson’s Creek has a special place in people's hearts -- including hers. Almost 25 years after the teen drama premiered, the actress reflects on what made it so memorable.  

“I think it's simplicity. It was, you know, four kids trying to figure out how to grow up. Going through the emotions of that,” she tells ET’s Matt Cohen. “That was before phones and before the world really changed. So, there's an element to it -- to a right now -- that’s very nostalgic. Like, wow, I can’t even remember that time before we were always looking at our screen.” 

Holmes starred as Joey Potter on the series that also became the breakout moment for James Van Der Beek (Dawson Leery), Joshua Jackson (Pacey Witter) and Michelle Williams (Jen Lindley).

Of course, Dawson’s Creek isn’t Holmes’ only career milestone. This year marks 25 years since her first acting credit in The Ice Storm. “It was so exciting,” the 43-year-old recalls about making the film. 

“I think it was, like, my first or second audition and Avy Kaufman was the casting director. ... I remember I was a junior in high school and it was really exciting, and Ang [Lee] was so lovely. Fred Elmes was our cinematographer, and it was really thrilling. And I was so nervous, but I just did my lines,” she adds.  

Today, with multiple acting credits under her belt, Holmes is the star, director and writer of Alone Together. The film, which also stars Jim Sturgess, is about two strangers who find themselves together during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic -- a story that was inspired by the actress' own time in quarantine.  

“I think what I appreciated, and I say this because I didn't experience any major loss like a lot of people did during the pandemic, which I'm very grateful for that. But the pandemic for me really was sort of taking a deep breath and a break and then learning again how to really listen. How to take time with things," she says. "So, I applied that to making this movie, which is my second film as a director."  

She adds, “The story came out of wanting to write. Write a love story and also just trying to make a time capsule of this period that we all went through that I think we'll be processing for a long time. That was the inspiration behind it for sure.” 

Alone Together is in theaters July 22 and on digital and on demand July 29. 

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