Katie Holmes recently shared a candid moment from her Broadway experience, revealing how stage nerves led to an embarrassing performance blunder. Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, the Batman Begins actress recounted an instance during her role in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, where she froze mid-performance, causing an awkward moment in front of the audience.
“I was in the middle of a scene and I just froze,” Holmes confessed, recalling the onstage mishap. “I said the whole line except the last word and I couldn’t remember it.” The 45-year-old actress admitted feeling flustered as she tried to salvage the situation. In an attempt to recover, Holmes improvised a response that, in hindsight, didn’t quite make sense, making her even more embarrassed. “I turned so red, I just tried to get out of it as fast as possible,” she shared.
In a bid to regain her composure, Holmes quickly recited the rest of her lines and exited the stage. Despite the uncomfortable moment, she admitted that it was part of the learning curve of live theater.
Holmes also shared her pre-performance routine with Fallon, revealing that she is somewhat superstitious when it comes to preparation. “I always run through my lines three times before I go on stage,” she explained. However, on the one occasion she skipped her ritual, things went awry.
The actress, known for her role in Dawson’s Creek, had been performing alongside other well-known actors, including Jim Parsons, Ephraim Sykes, Zoey Deutch, and Richard Thomas. Holmes recalled that after her mishap, Parsons was there to offer support. “Jim gave me a hug after,” Holmes said, laughing. “He was like, ‘I’ve never seen anyone say their lines so fast and remove themselves!’”
Despite the slip-up, Holmes’ openness about her experience highlights the vulnerability that comes with live theater and the camaraderie between fellow actors in times of onstage mistakes.
