Catching up with Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank, Rosamund Pike and Mary J. Blige

Los Angeles — We talked to Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank, Rosamund Pike and Mary J. Blige recently about what they are doing right now, and how they are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Katie Holmes, 41, finished the drama movie “The Secret: Dare to Dream” and was talking to us virtually in New York. Meanwhile, Hilary Swank, 46, was in her Los Angeles home when we interviewed her about playing an astronaut who leaves her family to do her job in the science fiction drama "Away." 

Rosamund Pike, 41, was caught by the pandemic as she was doing the film “The Wheel of Time” in Prague when she talked to us about portraying Marie Curie in the biographical drama film “Radioactive.” And Mary J. Blige, 49, who finished the TV drama series “Power Book II: Ghost” where she portrays Monet, the queen pin of the series, was in New Jersey when she talked to us.

Below are excerpts of our conversations with these amazing ladies:

Katie Holmes

This was based on a book. How much did you know about the book and how much are you into the power of positive thinking?

I had read the book and I'm a fan of Rhonda (Byrne’s). I think what was challenging about this was creating a narrative that went along with a book because obviously you can't adapt this book.

In creating characters and I believe in positivity, of course, and that has been tested this year for everyone. And we have to keep each other going. So, I'm happy that they decided to release the movie now, just to be a part of something that is uplifting. Something that you can watch with your whole family. Something that brings a lightness to the mood is helpful right now.

How are you dealing with life in this weird world right now? What are you doing for your mental health?

There's been a lot of good things that have come out of this. We've been in and out of the city, and in the beginning of the pandemic, obviously, New York was hit very hard.  I feel horrible for everyone who's lost someone, to see people from all over America volunteer, medical workers to come and work in the ER, to see people at seven o'clock every night clapping for the medical workers that has been so moving and it makes you really appreciate and believe in humanity.

When you're experiencing that, you realize that this is a unique year. You have to take it one day at a time. So, I have found those things to be incredibly hopeful and I'm so grateful for our medical heroes. For this time to really spend with family and connect with friends. Our life can get so busy and so to have time to focus on and appreciate little things. It's invaluable. I hope that this movie parallels that sentiment that I have really enjoyed during this time.

In the movie, you are a single mom raising your children. How was it working with the children and how much do you relate to her?

It was really wonderful to work with the kids. They're all really talented, young actors, and they were very hard working and so much fun. I felt like what drew me to the character of Miranda was the fact that she goes through such a transformation and she starts off, she's a widow, and she's a single mom of three. And she's really feeling disappointed about life and is feeling so beaten down, and by the end, she's inspired again, and she is able to appreciate life and be hopeful.

I feel like she represents so many women who have endured such hardships and I know women in my own life who are my heroes who have met very extreme challenges, and they've carried on and so I really looked to other women for inspiration and playing Miranda because I really wanted to make sure this was a realistic portrayal and someone that women could relate to and they felt seen. That's what we're supposed to do as actors. We're supposed to make people feel seen.

How do you stay positive during these times?

I have actually been watching a lot of Criterion Channel and that's really inspiring, watching Bergman films, and Agnes Martin films that makes me happy. Enjoying family and enjoying cooking, I mean just simple things like actually taking an activity that we tend to rush through and just taking it in and, enjoying that moment. That is a great lesson and we have so much to be thankful for so many people have suffered during this time. We are really lucky. You always have to keep that in mind.

Have you always known what you wanted in life?

I have always known what I wanted: to be an actress and an artist. I grew up dreaming that, and it happened so I'm very grateful for that.

At this point in my career, it’s about finding characters that I haven't played before, characters who are timely, characters who are inspiring, sometimes historical. So, I read a lot, because I am proactive, and I want to bring as many stories to the screen that I can. That's something that I'm very passionate about. It's helpful if you know exactly what you want, and sometimes you don't. Sometimes you have to wait that period out as well. Like sometimes you just need to rest a little bit and then it'll come to you like, what your next step is. So, I'm very gentle with myself.

Your daughter Suri is now 14. How did you celebrate her birthday during these challenging times?

I really like to keep her out of my interviews, but I will say that this time of quarantine has been such a lesson. There are so many people who are going through really tough times, and they've lost their jobs. In New York City, there's so many homeless. But there's been such a sense of humanity and to witness all of the volunteers that came to New York to work in our ER rooms. All of the medical workers that just work tirelessly, and they weren't with their families and they were putting themselves at risk to help other people. Those are the things that we really focus on during this time, like what everyone else is going through.

Being really grateful we're healthy, our family is healthy. It parallels the sentiment of the movie. Really looking at everything that you have and taking in those gifts and also celebrating the simplicity of making dinner and how that's special. That's time together.

How do you make your family feel safe and unafraid of the future?

This has been quite a time and being in and out of New York and it’s right outside of your building, you are seeing such acts of kindness and humanity and hope.  So as scary as it might seem, like I suddenly have to wear gloves and a mask when we were in the height of things, then at seven o’clock you hear people clapping for the medical workers and then you realize that you are a part of something much bigger and you are connecting with everybody and it’s an overwhelming sentence that everything is going to be okay.  So that’s such a gift and to see that with my own eyes and experience that and to have other people in my life as well experience that, is such a huge gift.

How has your inner voice guided you in your life and when did you realize the first time that life was not fair?

Life for me, I feel very blessed.  I have felt very lucky.  I do rely on my instincts a lot.  But I also forgive myself for mistakes.  I don’t beat myself up, I try to keep moving and I try to find the good in things and find the hope. I realize how lucky I am and what I can do to make other people feel better is more important.

Hilary Swank

How are you dealing with this new world?

My grandmother passed away, not COVID-related, on March 13. We had just finished all of our press posters and stuff for “Away.” I just came back from New York; I went to Iowa for the funeral.

While we were there, it was a difficult journey to get my dad who got his lung transplant there. We went to the funeral, but then all of a sudden it was self-isolation and quarantine and you weren't supposed to be going out in public. So, I'd get my dad home safely and figure that all out. That's where I was when everything went down.

It's been a roller coaster ride. Most of the time it's heartbreaking, because there's a lot of people who can't make ends meet. There's a lot of children who aren't getting fed because their parents aren't able to work. People losing their lives. We don't know all the effects of COVID yet. So, the unknown is really scary in a world where we usually know a lot and we know what, things come up. We have a great awareness of how it's going to be dealt with and how it's going to be handled.

The unknown is scary for a lot of people. I have just been sitting home and working on my production company, my clothing line mission statement, and just continuing to make sure my dad stays healthy through this and doing what I can to raise awareness and money for people in need. Just trying to, like the show, have hope for the future. Knowing that we all need to come and walk shoulder to shoulder in order to beat this all together as a global community.

Your character struggles from being away from her family for a long time. Can you imagine being away from your loved ones for a period of three years? 

I've been an actor now since I was 15 years old. It's taken me away from my loved ones and what I call home most of the time, but the longest I've ever been gone is about a year. People have come to visit me and I can see them. It would be an enormous challenge. We have a little bit of an idea through the self-isolation and quarantining that we've been doing during COVID to have to see how lonely it can be.

Loneliness is a real thing and it's affects a lot of people. It's giving us a glimmer of what it must feel like to be isolated for such a long period of time and what's considered a tin can soaring through the middle of nowhere in space. There are parallels definitely drawn to that and again to what's important which is your health and being connected with your loved ones.

It was nice of you to take some time off to take care of your dad. Did you ever get scared that you would never get your career back?

As much as it's talked about, I probably should have been worried about it. But I wasn't, if anything I didn't really think about it. I just thought about the task at hand and what was important. What was really important was the need to make sure that my dad had the best chance at living. That's all that took my thoughts, my time, my consciousness, and my subconscious, it was all that mattered.

I was thankfully in a position where I could take time off of work. Think of how many people there are who couldn't do that. I feel so fulfilled in the opportunities that I've had. I feel like I've been doing it now for so long, it's almost been three decades. At that time, it was two and a half decades. So, I wasn't quite afraid that I wouldn't work again.

But if anything, the gift of it was that I got the opportunity to explore more of me and realize that I'm not just defined by being an actor, which I have done to myself. When we ask people, if someone says to you, 'oh, tell me about you,' you probably first and foremost say, 'well, I'm a journalist.' It's interesting that we put our career first, right? 'Oh, I'm an actor.' But then I just realized there's so many other things about me, that help define who I am and I got to explore that during that time. That was a real gift. I think anything is like, what you make of it, and or what you don't make of it. That and now I'm back to work and my dad's healthy, thank God. No regrets.

Can you tell us more about the women astronauts that you talked to? How did they deal with adventure versus leaving one’s family?

I did speak to a lot of female and male astronauts and one of the things, when I went to Mission Control and I was with Jessica Meir, who was one of the astronauts that I spoke to, and one of the things that she said was when she does press or and all the women do press and all the men do press — 100% of the women get asked how do you leave your family (laughter) and the men don't. And she said, it's so interesting, right, and the fact it's almost like kids or families don't need their fathers as much as they need their mothers or something.

When one of the astronauts got pregnant, she was going out on a mission and instead of calling it maternity leave or something, they called it a health issue. And she had to step down because of a health issue.  It was crazy, but she was able to later go on another mission when she had her baby. but it's just it's fascinating.

Some of the words that are used are antiquated but NASA is working really hard to make equality. It's now pretty much 50/50 male-female and that more women are realizing that they have an opportunity as an astronaut. whereas I don't think it's something they really thought of before. 

I spoke to Peggy Whitson, who is the female astronaut who went to space more than any other astronaut, and she commanded more missions than any other astronaut.  She also happens to be from the town my mom is from in Allerton, Iowa and isn't that crazy.

It’s the place where I used to go and visit my mom's farm where my great-grandparents used to live. They've both passed away since but there was a sign that said the home of Peggy Whitson and I just thought, 'omigosh, what a small world!' To be speaking to her and picking her brain about what a mission is like and what it feels like so...

Rosamund Pike

Where are you right now?

I am in Prague with my family. I am doing “The Wheel of Time.” My family are here, and my children are going to school here. They had a very strict and comforting policy from the word go. So we felt safe actually. A lot of credit to the Czech Government.

There are films shooting here, nothing on a massive scale yet.  When our show gets up and running again it will be, all eyes will be on us because we will be the biggest show to attempt to get going again after lockdown.

Now you are portraying Marie Curie in “Radioactive.”

It’s interesting isn’t it? That it should be coming out during this, when everyone’s eyes are on science again. It’s probably a good time and suddenly scientists are at the front of everyone’s minds. People will respond to her in a different way now than had we released the film in March in the normal way.  There is an extra understanding of the cost of science and discovery and the balance of potential for great good and the potential for harm.

How much do you love science?

I do have a love of science because it’s that idea of making the invisible visible that great scientists do, those ones that have revealed things of nature to us, there is something so momentous about it, it’s different from innovation. It’s really going into the unknown and it’s the adventure of science that really inspires me. 

I always think about that night when Pierre and Madame Curie had isolated radium and they had fallen asleep from the floor of their workshop and what it must have felt like to know that your discovery is probably going to change the world, but at that minute, only nobody else knows about it.  It’s almost like, it has a similarity to the moment when you become a mother and you have a baby but you haven’t yet announced it to the world or your friends and there is that secret that you are holding onto for a magical night or whatever.

I imagine that is the same with them with their isolation of radium.  It’s so potent and it’s so magical, when they discovered it glowed, they didn’t know uranium ore, and that radium itself was going to have this brightness and incandescence.  And no wonder the whole world went crazy for it. I don’t know if during our lifetime we have experienced a phenomenon like that, a craze that has captured the imagination of the whole world. We haven’t really had something quite like that.

Mary J. Blige

How are you doing during this new normal?

I am doing pretty well. I am just really trying to stay grateful for the things that I have and not worry about the things I don’t have. Just staying grateful and continuing to work hard and come up with ideas for when we do come out of this pandemic, just trying to stay positive, positive thinking.

How has music affected you as an actress?

Music and acting are the same when it comes to how you apply them to get what you need out of it. So you need emotion to sing certain lyrics and you need emotion to make certain characters feel. So it’s the same in that sense, as far as creative sense. 

But as far as a professional sense, it’s different. Acting, you have to be more punctual. You have to think about everybody. Singing, you can just do whatever you want, whenever you want to do it.  (laughs)

When did you find your voice and who are the heroines in your life?

I found my voice in some of my lowest points in my life. I found that everything that can happen to you, can elevate you and elevate someone else and lift someone else up. I found my voice in some of my lowest points. That's when you find out what you're made of.

As for my heroines, my mom is one of my heroes. Of course, Michelle Obama, some of my friends.  A lot of women. Angela Bassett, Queen Latifah, Taraji P. Henson, Viola Davis. And those are actually some of my real friends.

What do you think is your own power?

My power is my ability to be so transparent and my generosity.

When did you recognize your power?

It’s the bad things and the trials, the things that show us who we are and show us what our destinies are and what our jobs are.  So when I reached some of my lowest points, I realized that I am not just reaching this low point in front of the whole world, to keep it to myself. I am reaching this low point because I am not afraid to say “Me too. I am suffering too. I went through this too.”  And I am not afraid to let people know that I have been through things. So that’s when I realized my powers are my lowest points because that’s when I write about it. I sing about it. I talk to people about it. I created a whole fan base on recognizing my power and my vulnerability.  My vulnerability is my power. — LA, GMA News