Kate Hudson is certainly having her moment. After seemingly disappearing from the spotlight for a brief time, the longtime actress returns to the big screen for Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. In the Netflix film, she stars as model-turned-fashion-entrepreneur Birdie Jay.
Since the film’s release, Hudson’s performance in the film has been lauded by critics (the sequel itself has earned positive reviews too). At the same time, it’s got everyone thinking about whether the actress will be taking on more roles soon, especially those in rom-coms, which she has been known for.
Kate Hudson Became A Star Following Several Rom-Com Roles
Hudson may have started with a couple of small tv roles in the late 90s. But soon after, in 2000, she became the talk of the town after landing the role of Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous. Crowe always had Hudson in mind for the movie, but it wasn’t for Penny.
“I said to Cameron, ‘Can I audition for Penny Lane?’” the actress recalled. “It was like, ‘Mm, I don’t think so.’ I was not what Cameron had in mind in the beginning. I was Anita. I was the sister.”
Eventually, though, Zooey Deschanel landed the part of Anita and Hudson was ready to try for Penny again. But by then, she was also up against Natalie Portman for the part.
Amid tough competition, Hudson finally won Crowe over for the part of Penny. “Here was somebody that just walks in the room and you’re like I love her. She was that character,” Crowe said of Hudson. “So Kate does her reading for Penny Lane with Patrick. She’s so loving and caring of Patrick that it was a whole other side of Penny Lane that we needed more.”
Soon after, Hudson also landed several memorable rom-com roles, including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days opposite Matthew McConaughey whom she wanted to work with from the start.
“We had an energy together, I wanted to play with him. It felt kinetic,” the actress recalled during a Life in Pictures talk at BAFTA.
“We both have a competitive spirit, we’re both super athletic. We like to push each other and I just love Matthew’s commitment to everything; he’s razor-focused. What you think he is, is is.”
Aside from this, the actress also memorably starred in Bride Wars with Anne Hathaway and Candace Bergen. Aside from these, Hudson also did films such as You, Me and Dupree, A Little Bit of Heaven, and Something Borrowed. Since then, the actress hasn’t done another rom-com.
How Does She Feel About Rom-Coms Now?
While some actors try to move away from a genre to avoid being typecast, Hudson would love to keep doing it so long as it can be done right.
“I find that people think they know how to make them, but they’re actually really hard to make,” the actress explained. “They’re the movies that people watch over and over and over again when they’re good—they become classics.”
Hudson also admitted that she’s had an issue with this in the past, which may explain why she didn’t much screen work in the past few years.
“When that started to happen for me, it made me sad. I like to disappear into bold characters, and I wasn’t being given those opportunities,” she said.
“The opportunities that were given? Frankly, I’m grateful to people who like me in a rom-com, but I didn’t start in this business to play one thing. So I think that’s what I’m talking about. It came to a point where instead of doing those, I just stopped working as much.”
Kate Hudson Is Ready For More Rom-Coms, Even A How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days Sequel
At the moment, Hudson doesn’t seem to be attached to any upcoming rom-com project. But that doesn’t mean that she’s not thinking about one. For instance, the actress is ready to reunite Andie and McConaughey’s Ben onscreen again.
“Yeah, Matthew and I always say like if there was a great story there, I think we would do it, you know?” the actress confirmed. “It would just have to be a good story and it's hard to make a good rom-com. I mean, I think people have this sort of conception that it's sort of easy and…But to get a story right, to make it actually work, is challenging.”
In the meantime, Hudson also revealed that she has something in the works with Lena Dunham. She’s also revealed that she’s interested in doing a tv project. “It’s the first time I’ve been really moved to want to invest in something like that again,” Hudson said.
“But I want to look at the next television project very specifically, like I would look at my career in film, because you really have to sit in that character for at least six months.” The actress is “actively looking” to direct for the first time too.