By: Izumi Hasegawa August 13, 2014
In the new film The Giver, Katie Holmes plays the mother of a son and daughter who are not biologically related. The world of The Giver is a very overprotective society in exchange of getting rid of violence. The onscreen mother also has a daughter in real life, and we wondered, what type of mom is Katie? An overprotective mom or laid back or very strict? She answered that.
Q: This film is about an overprotective society and parents. Which mom are you? Are you an overprotective mom yourself? Or more laid back?
I think what I love so much about this film and this book is you really get to see this extreme world where you have no pain, you have no emotion. Everything is routine and very safe and controlled. And then you get to see this character have these adventures and these human moments and first love but also war. And when you watch the film, you can really for yourself see both sides. It was a great challenge to play this character because she’s kind of part of both worlds. She’s the mother of this person who is going through this adventurous time.
Q: As a parent of a small child, how much do you encourage children of that age to question authority?
Well, I think that one of the draws of doing this project was this book. And the reason why I think it’s so beloved by so many and why schools have it on their reading list is because of these powerful themes, having children really decide for themselves what they think is important and that free choice. So I’m very happy to be a part of the film adaptation of this.
Q: What was it like for you to play this tough mother – so into maintaining the law that it was kind of at the expense of your own child?
I really enjoyed playing this character. You know I think that for me what I loved about this character is she is trying so hard to maintain this order. This is what she knows. Jonas is going through something that she doesn’t know and it’s very threatening and it fills her with a great deal of conflict. So I think it’s always interesting to play people that have a lot going on.
The Giver opens in theaters August 15th.
