Katie Holmes as Director: Jack Martin Reveals What She's Like

Katie Holmes as a Director: Jack Martin Reveals What She's Like

There is a specific kind of respect that only comes when someone has truly earned it — not through title or reputation alone, but through the way they treat every single person around them. That is exactly the kind of respect actor Jack Martin has for Katie Holmes, and he is not keeping it to himself.

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Fresh off working alongside the actress, writer, and director on her upcoming film "Happy Hours," Martin is opening up about what it is really like to be on a set run by Katie Holmes. And if his words are anything to go by, the experience sounds like something every young actor would be lucky to have.

"She's So, So, So Kind"

According to E! News, Jack Martin shared his experience working with Katie in an exclusive interview on May 19, where he was attending the celebration of FENDI's The Baguette 26424 Re-Edition at the brand's flagship store in New York City. He did not hold back for a single second.

"Katie is unbelievable," he said. "She's so, so, so kind. You can tell, not just from interacting with her, but from every single person that she hires."

That last part is worth sitting with. It is easy for someone in power to present a warm face to the people they need to impress. It is something else entirely when that warmth filters down through every layer of a production — through the crew, the supporting cast, the people working quietly in the background. Jack made it clear that on the set of "Happy Hours," kindness was not just a personality trait. It was a culture.

"Every single person she works with is also so kind, so generous," he added. "That movie is really her movie."

A Film She Wrote, Directed, and Starred In

"Happy Hours" is a deeply personal project for Katie Holmes. She wrote the screenplay, stepped behind the camera to direct, and is also starring in the film, which follows a pair of exes who cross paths years later and find themselves rekindling something they thought was long over.

The cast she assembled for this story is nothing short of remarkable. Her "Dawson's Creek" co-star Joshua Jackson is starring opposite her, reuniting the two actors more than two decades after the beloved WB series that made them both household names. Constance Wu and Mary-Louise Parker round out the ensemble, making this one of the more quietly exciting independent projects heading into the Tribeca Film Festival, where the film is set to premiere in June 2026.

Katie announced the project in July 2025 with a heartfelt Instagram post that immediately set the internet buzzing. "Working with Josh after so many years is a testament to friendship," she wrote. "Happy Hours is a love story that includes so many people I adore. We can't wait for everyone to see what we make."

Encouraging Confidence From Every Corner of the Room

For Jack Martin, stepping onto a set filled with actors of that caliber was not without its nerves. He admitted freely that walking into a room alongside Joshua Jackson and the rest of the cast was intimidating at first. But what he described next speaks volumes about who Katie Holmes is as a creative leader.

"She really encourages people to love themselves and bring that into their performances," he explained. "I felt a little nervous going into that set because she's so amazing, and everybody she hired for that movie is so amazing."

Rather than letting that intimidation fester, Jack found that Katie had built an environment where confidence was cultivated from the very first day. She knows every single person's name on set, she invites everyone's ideas, and she actively encourages her cast to bring their own flair to the material rather than simply executing what is already written on the page.

"She encouraged me to have confidence and bring my own ideas and bring my own flair to it," he said. "I thought that was so cool and I think that makes the project a lot better."

It is the kind of directorial philosophy that separates good films from truly great ones. When the people in front of the camera feel safe, trusted, and genuinely seen, something honest happens on screen. And that honesty is exactly what a story about rekindled love and second chances needs.

A Director Who Has Been Building to This Moment

This is not the first time Katie Holmes has stepped behind the camera. She made her feature film directorial debut back in 2016 with "All We Had," a quiet and emotionally complex drama that signaled she had a real voice as a filmmaker. A decade later, "Happy Hours" feels like the project where that voice fully arrives — a film she has shaped completely from the inside out, from the first word on the page to the final frame on screen.

At 47, Katie Holmes is in a creative chapter that her "Dawson's Creek" fans might not have fully anticipated but should absolutely not be surprised by. She has never been content to simply inhabit the roles handed to her. She has always been reaching for something more, something more personal, something she could truly call her own.

Jack Martin — who has been in a relationship with actress Lili Reinhart since spring 2023 — clearly walked away from this experience changed by it. The word he kept returning to was "deserving." At the end of his glowing account of working with Katie, he landed on something that felt like a quiet, genuine tribute.

"She deserves all the success," he said simply.

Coming from someone who was there, who watched her lead an entire production with grace, intention, and warmth from start to finish, that is about as powerful an endorsement as it gets.

"Happy Hours" premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2026. It is already one of the most anticipated independent films of the year, and after hearing what the people inside that world have to say about it, the wait feels worthwhile.

From FTE News