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Oscar-nominated actress Kate Hudson first appeared onscreen in 1996 with a minor role in a second season episode of Party of Five. Her film debut came in 1998, but her career really took off in 2000 with the cult classic Almost Famous in which she was lauded by critics. She collected several awards for her performance and soon followed in the footsteps of her famous parents, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. Throughout the 2000s, Hudson became renowned for her romantic comedies, but she also proved she was a talented dramatic actress, too. In 2007, she made her directorial debut with the short film Cutlass, a drama about a woman looking back on her teenage years. Among the cast were Virginia Madsen, Dakota Fanning, and Kristen Stewart.
This year, Hudson seemingly distanced herself from the rom-com genre and even criticised modern rom-coms as being “dumbed down”. Her last rom-com was Mother’s Day in 2016. More recently, she has taken on serious roles in movies such as Good People, Marshall, and Sia’s highly controversial musical drama, Music. With her acting career still going strong with her performance in this year’s critically acclaimed Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, here are twelve of Kate Hudson’s best performances.
Desert Blue (1998)
Kate Hudson’s film debut saw her star alongside Christina Ricci, Casey Affleck, and John Heard in the quirky indie drama Desert Blue. While it remains relatively obscure, it is a lot of fun with great subtle humor and an ensemble of wonderfully weird characters. Hudson plays Skye Davidson, a young upcoming actress who travels on a road trip with her father through a small desert town. After an oil spill leaves them quarantined in the town, Skye and her father get to know the eccentric locals and discover what life is like outside the city. Nineteen-year-old Hudson impresses as a bratty starlet whose eyes are opened when she meets the town’s residents. She has many tender conversations with the titular Blue (Brendon Sexton III), and the development of their relationship is one of the movie’s strongest points. The quiet moments shared between the two of them are touching, and Kate Hudson’s layered performance creates an engaging character in Skye whom she manages to keep likable despite her bad qualities. It is a film worth seeking out, and it showed a glimpse of the major talent Kate Hudson would become.
Gossip (2000)
Although it was a critical and commercial failure, Gossip is an underappreciated psychological thriller in which Kate Hudson stars as a wealthy college student who becomes convinced she was raped after a group of fellow students maliciously start a rumor. Featuring Lena Headey, James Marsden, and Norman Reedus before their careers really took off, this thriller explores the unforgiving and fierce spitefulness of teenagers as well as the dangers of how quickly gossip can spread. Kate Hudson has a significant role as Naomi, and she shows no hints of her comedic qualities in this dark, concerning thriller. The twists come thick and fast as events spiral out of control and shocking revelations come to light. It is a compelling mystery, and all the characters are suitably shady with Kate Hudson’s performance being a standout.
Almost Famous (2000)
Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical comedy-drama Almost Famous saw Hudson rise to prominence in the iconic role of band-aid Penny Lane. Set in the 1970s, fifteen-year-old William Miller (Patrick Fugit) gets a job writing for Rolling Stone magazine and goes on tour with the rock band Stillwater. There, he meets the alluring Penny Lane and forms a close bond with her and the band whilst his overprotective mother (Frances McDormand) worries about him at home. Undoubtedly Kate Hudson’s finest work, this warm, sentimental drama is simply a delight and captures its era perfectly. Penny is superlative in a plethora of memorable characters including guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup), lead singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee), manager Dick Roswell (Noah Taylor), and the other band-aids, Polexia (Anna Paquin) and Sapphire (Fairuza Balk). Shockingly, this masterpiece bombed at the box office, but it has since been regarded as one of the greatest films of the 2000s. As terrific as the theatrical version is, the best way to watch this film is its extended cut which includes several more sequences with Penny, William, and Russell, and amplifies the highs and lows of their love triangle. Hudson won a Golden Globe for her performance and was nominated for an Oscar.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
Arguably Kate Hudson’s best known rom-com, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days marked the first time she co-starred with Matthew McConaughey. Hudson is Andie, a magazine writer who plans on writing an article about losing a guy in only ten days, and McConaughey is Ben, an advertising executive who makes a bet with his colleagues that he can make a girl fall in love with him within ten days. The two meet each other and put their plans into action. While the concept is amusing, it could easily have had two very unlikeable leads, but Hudson and McConaughey really are charming to watch. The way they clash with each other as their relationship develops with neither one being aware of the other’s true intentions provides some hysterical moments. The pair of them are so delightful to watch and manage to make the movie’s sillier moments work. Kate Hudson particularly shines with her crazy antics being increasingly hilarious.
The Skeleton Key (2005)
In this overlooked supernatural horror film, Kate Hudson plays Caroline Ellis, a hospice nurse who takes a job at the plantation home of Violet (Gena Rowlands) and Ben (John Hurt) when the latter is paralyzed after suffering a stroke. Caroline soon becomes suspicious of the couple and discovers the dark history of the house they live in. Hudson carries the movie with her brilliant portrayal of the caring and sympathetic Caroline. She is a great lead, and the extraordinary situation she finds herself in quickly becomes terrifying after a series of unexplained events. The Skeleton Key deals with a spiritual practice which has rarely been explored in horror movies: hoodoo. The ritual scenes are particularly revealing and everything builds to a memorable conclusion in which Hudson totally nails the final scene.
You, Me and Dupree (2006)
In an early film from the Russo Brothers, newlyweds Carl (Matt Dillon) and Molly (Hudson) invite Carl’s best man Dupree (Owen Wilson) to live with them after he loses his job and his home. Soon, Dupree overstays his welcome and Molly’s frustration grows. Wilson may be front and centre, but Hudson’s hilariously clenched performance and solid chemistry with Dillon provide some big laughs. Hudson and Wilson work well together, too. Each of the three leads throw themselves into their roles and often keep You, Me and Dupree entertaining. There is plenty of slapstick humor to be enjoyed too and a fittingly feel-good resolution.
Fool’s Gold (2008)
Fool’s Gold reunited Kate Hudson with McConaughey, and they proved that after five years, they hadn’t lost their chemistry with each other. This time, they played an estranged couple, Tess and Finn, who end up in the beautiful Bahamas on the search for lost treasure up against vengeful gangster rapper, Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart). The movie is simply stunning to look at with its tropical beaches and glistening oceans. Despite the challenges faced during filming including shooting in waters infested with the venomous Irukandji jellyfish, the cast all look like they are having a blast. The fun reflects on the audience too in this crowd-pleasing adventure which sees Tess and Finn engage in sword fights, gunfights and escape falling seaplanes. Thrilling, funny and consistently entertaining, Hudson and McConaughey are at the center of this rollicking romantic adventure.
Nine (2009)
Daniel Day-Lewis leads this musical Nine as Guido Contini, an Italian filmmaker who looks back on the women who have been prominent in his life. Among those is Stephanie (Hudson), a feisty American fashion journalist who had an impact on Guido’s life when they met in a hotel bar. Hudson’s role is relatively small, but she shines in her performance. She leads one of the movie’s most memorable numbers “Cinema Italiano,” an original song written for the film which captures the 1960s era of Italian cinema. Hudson rehearsed the routine for six weeks and the flashy visuals in the performance smartly reflects the entertainment industry of Stephanie’s world invading the psyche of the tortured artist, Contini.
The Killer Inside Me (2010)
Kate Hudson’s most serious role was in The Killer Inside Me. In this stylish noir thriller adapted from Jim Thompson’s novel, she plays Amy Stanton, the long-suffering girlfriend of disturbed deputy sheriff Lou Ford (second reunion with Casey Affleck). Slowly, Lou is unmasked as a violent psychopath. Upon release, the movie was very controversial for its graphic violence towards its female characters. Jessica Alba is in a supporting role as a prostitute and in the opening scene gets beaten by Lou, and Amy, too, suffers at the hands of the maniacal deputy. Hudson is sympathetic in her role, and brings a human, emotional edge to the film which only serves to make the bursts of violence more shocking. It is a thoroughly bleak, uncomfortable movie, meticulously paced and superbly acted.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012)
Indian-American director Mira Nair crafts a brilliant enigma around Changez (Riz Ahmed) when he is brought in for questioning following a kidnapping of one of his colleagues. As he recounts his life in America, he talks of the time he had a relationship with a photographer, Erica (Hudson), and the unfair treatment he suffered post-9/11. Nair superbly adapts Mohsin Hamid’s challenging novel which was written entirely as a monologue, and adds more depth to the story with additional characters and effective imagery. After being predominantly known for rom-coms, Hudson brilliantly transformed into Erica complete with a new appearance with black hair. She commented that the complexities of the role were what attracted her to the movie. The Reluctant Fundamentalist stands out as being one of Kate Hudson’s most unique movies, and the film’s assessment of xenophobia was widely praised.
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Based on the real-life tragedy at an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, Deepwater Horizon is a harrowing depiction of the explosion which killed 11 people. Among the impressive cast is Mark Wahlberg, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O’Brien, and Hudson’s real-life father Kurt Russell. Kate Hudson plays Felicia, wife of Wahlberg’s Mike. It is a brilliantly emotional performance from Hudson who is unaware of the true extent of the disaster for most of the movie, and frantically searches for information from miles away. While the scenes on the oil rig are intense and riveting, Hudson’s scenes demonstrate a more chilling feeling of increasing dread and captures the terrifying moments when the worker’s family members were informed of the catastrophe. Hudson shares only one scene with Russell, but she spoke of how incredible it was to share the screen with her legendary father.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
In this much-anticipated sequel, Kate Hudson plays Birdie, an obnoxious airhead who is invited along to her old billionaire friend Miles’ (Edward Norton) private island. When a mystery starts to unfold, the presence of Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is called into question when one of the guests dies mysteriously. Hudson provides much of the movie’s humor with her ditzy nature and derogatory comments. She is introduced as a wild, party-loving fool who excellently satirizes the infatuation of achieving a celebrity status at any expense. Given her famous parents, this is something which Hudson has been aware of and continually tried to avoid for her whole career, so to have the freedom to be so outlandish looked like a lot of fun for her here. Rian Johnson’s ambitious sequel goes big, but with top-notch performances across the board, Kate Hudson included, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is one of the best movies of the year.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is now streaming on Netflix.
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