Katie Holmes Movies and TV shows: Our Favorites From 'Dawson's Creek' to 'Batman Begins'

Katie Holmes will always be best known as our favorite girl-next-door, Joey Potter, in her hit TV series, Dawson’s Creek (1998). But there is a wide array of Katie Holmes movies and TV shows that you should be watching if you’re a fan of the actress.

Holmes made headlines again in 2006 with her high-profile marriage to fellow actor Tom Cruise. The couple went through a swift engagement and had daughter, Suri Cruise, the same year. Though their marriage garnered an excess amount of attention, Katie Holmes remains a name that is instantly recognized.

Katie Holmes early days

Born Kate Noelle Holmes on December 18, 1978, in Toledo, Ohio, the actress is the daughter of Kathleen and Martin Holmes. Her mother was a philanthropist, and her father was a lawyer, but Katie was the first actress in her family.

Katie has a very strong-willed personality, which is clearly reflected in her Dawson’s Creek character, who doesn't accept nonsense and is very firm about achieving her goals. Interestingly, Katie's parents attest that this trait came from a premature birth and being the youngest of five.

The actress started out in modeling, attending school for the craft as a teenager. But deciding that she wanted to do more, she moved into acting and, at age 17, Holmes was auditioning for projects in Los Angeles. Though her acting career came to a head on the 1998 series, Holmes’ first role was in a film.

At age 19, Katie Holmes booked her first gig — on only her second audition — in the film, The Ice Storm (1997). Although the part was a small one, the film was only the beginning of Katie Holmes' groundbreaking career.

The girl from the wrong side of the creek

After her first film, Holmes started sending in audition tapes for different series, including the pilot for a certain angsty teen drama. At the time, though, she was starring in her school’s production of Damn Yankees, so Holmes couldn’t make a live audition for Dawson’s. Luckily, the producers loved her tape so much that they rescheduled her callback, resulting in her landing the role of Joey Potter.

Luckily for Holmes, Dawson’s Creek was a major move for her career. The 90s hit, which was full of the decades' classic fashion and angsty teen romance, was one of the most successful teen dramas ever.

Following the blossoming romance between best friends Dawson (James Van Der Beek) and Joey, the series featured multiple love triangles while dealing serious issues as well. Katie Holmes perfectly portrays the lovable girl from the wrong side of the creek, and just as her character was trying to figure out her place in the world, 18-year-old Holmes was doing the same.

In an interview with Glamour, Holmes explained how she felt during the show’s filming. “I had so many different feelings, trying to go from being a girl to a woman ... So for me, playing that role, I was like, 'Oh, that’s what that means. Oh, I get that.'”

Throughout the 128-episode run, Holmes scored other major roles that only furthered her wildly successful career.

RELATED: Dawson's Creek Cast: You 'Don't Want to Wait' to Catch Up With these Stars!

A whirlwind of Katies Holmes movies and TV shows

Holmes booked several films while starring on the teen drama, including Disturbing Behavior (1998), Go (1999), Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999) and Wonder Boys (2000).

Holmes ended up winning an MTV award for Disturbing Behavior in the category of Best Breakthrough Female Performance. She snagged the award over Rachael Leigh Cook for her role in She’s All That (1999) and Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth (1998). Oddly enough, Van Der Beek won the male counterpart of the award for his performance in Varsity Blues (1999).

RELATED: Rachael Leigh Cook Movies and TV Shows: From ’90s Teen Queen to Hallmark Star

In 2000 Holmes went on to star alongside Blanchett in The Gift, subsequent credits including Abandon (2002), Phone Booth (2002) and The Singing Detective (2003). Holmes then booked Pieces of April (2003), where she played the wayward daughter of an estranged family who, upon learning her mother is sick, invites her and the rest of the family to her apartment for Thanksgiving. The film ended up winning multiple awards and was a financial success.

Katie Holmes post teen drama

After Dawson’s Creek ended, Holmes starred in the film First Daughter (2004), portraying the daughter of the U.S. president (played by Michael Keaton). But the following year, she starred in the extremely successful Batman Begins, the Christopher Nolan film had a stellar cast including Christian Bale, Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy.

RELATED: Christopher Nolan Movies, Ranked: 10 of the Filmmaker’s Most Impressive Works

Instead of starring in the film’s sequel, The Dark Knight (2008), Holmes acted alongside Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah in that same year's Mad Money. Unfortunately, while that film was not a success, The Dark Knight won two Oscars among dozens of other awards. The film was also the first superhero movie to gross over $1 billion. Nonetheless, Katie Holmes has defended the choice, relating to Business Insider, “I really enjoyed working on the first one … It was a decision that I made at that time and it was right for me at that moment, so I don't have any regrets.”

She started off the 2010s with roles in The Romantics, The Extra Man and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. In 2011, Holmes returned to television in the mini-series The Kennedys, alongside Greg Kinnear. She later reprised the role in The Kennedys After Camelot in 2017. Between miniseries Holmes played Erin in Jack and Jill (2011), starring Adam Sandler.

Katie Holmes had a small arc in the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2005), appearing in three episodes over the course of the series. In 2014, she starred in Days and Nights, Miss Meadows and The Giver. She then had another television arc on the show Ray Donovan in 2015, and made her directorial debut on the film All We Had in 2016.

Recent Katie Holmes movies and TV shows

She had many roles in 2017 and 2018, among them Dear Dictator (2017), co-starring with Channing Tatum, Adam Driver and Riley Keough in Logan Lucky (2017), and No Apologies (2018). The most recent Katie Holmes movies and TV shows include Coda (2019), Brahms: The Boy II (2020) and The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020).

Katie Holmes has focused more on directing films as of late, including Alone Together (2022) and Rare Objects (2023), both of which she starred in as well. As she's revealed, she has a system for projects in which she serves the dual role of director and actor. “It’s all about preparation. I prep a character first," she told Indiewire. "Then, as a director, I work very closely with my cinematographer and my production designer and my costume designer and my team. That time is so precious, because we’re making a lot of big decisions.”

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