London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Katherine Heigl: Filming Firefly Lane showed me how much Hollywood has changed

Katherine Heigl: Filming Firefly Lane showed me how much Hollywood has changed

Katherine Heigl says the industry has changed: Boundaries are respected more on set, and there's a delicateness in the way people speak to each other.

When my success as an actress first started, it was a shock. Yes, it was something I'd always dreamed of, worked towards, and hoped for, but it's such a long shot — the odds are not great.

So when it happened, I really had to adjust. I look at my 20-something self and think, "Yeah, girl, you got a little ahead of yourself." But I'm also kind of OK with that — she was young. And she was really excited.
More than anything, I was relieved to have finally made it. The nature of the industry for many of us is that it's an up-and-down thing. You might be really successful one minute and then the next minute it dims. 

And it certainly did for me — there were projects that didn't do as well as I'd hoped, and for a while I was saying yes to projects I wasn't necessarily passionate about. I made choices based on my perceived success rather than based on my heart. I sacrificed time with my young children, and I regret some of those sacrifices. I had to go through it all and learn.

It was probably when I turned 40 that I realized I needed to define what success means to me — what I want it to look like, what I'm willing to give up for it and what I'm not. Once I established that, my career felt entirely different: more comfortable, more stable, and more my own.


Hollywood is really different from how it used to be


The industry has really changed since I first started out.

An example: For "Firefly Lane," we had an intimacy coordinator on set — a person whose job it is to ensure that actors feel comfortable during intimate scenes. She'd talk to directors, producers, whoever, and say, "This is what they'll do, and this is what they won't" — and then the actors don't get asked again. I'd never even heard of that before.

At first I was a little like, "Hey, I've been around the block a few times; I don't need this kind of attention." But then I was like, "Hell yeah! That's how it should be." It was such a blessing.


I've had many, many instances where I've been pushed to do something I'm not comfortable with


It's a complicated industry. There's a lot of money on the line, a lot of people involved, and a lot of opinions that are sometimes presented as fact — so it's very hard to stand up for yourself when there's no one to back you up. And you're often labeled difficult for doing so.

Compared to the beginning of my career, there's a delicacy now in Hollywood that didn't exist. People are more delicate about the way they ask for something and what they're asking for.

I took it upon myself at one point to put my foot down about certain working conditions and work hours. I'm 44. I'm tired. I can't be working insane hours. And we shouldn't have to — we're making entertainment, not curing cancer or world hunger.

I think those battles are a little easier than they used to be. I'm very hopeful for the young actresses coming up that it'll get even better for them.


The emergence of original streamer content is pushing some of the change


Filming for a streamer is a totally different kind of experience than filming for linear television. Instead of filming episode by episode, we filmed two episodes at once. It was a little confusing for "Firefly Lane" because we use a lot of time jumps — so not only are you bouncing between two different scripts daily and scene to scene, you're also bouncing between three decades.

Typically, with studios, you have your big readthrough of the script, get all your studio notes, and then you get all the network notes and producer notes — there's a lot of input. I didn't feel that as much working on a streaming show. Once they give the green light, they just let you go. It might've been very different for Maggie Freeman, our show creator, but to me it felt like we were left to our own devices. It's been great. I think sometimes there can be too many cooks in the kitchen.

As a viewer, though, I also like streamers because I like to binge. I love when a bunch of episodes are dumped at once so I can watch on my own time. When it comes to my favorite shows on a network like HBO, I just wait. I don't watch it when it first comes out. I just go, "Nope, I'm going to show some discipline and not watch until all the episodes are watchable."
I'm really pissed off at Netflix for staggering the "Love Is Blind" episodes. I was like, "I want

to see the whole thing right now!"


'Firefly Lane' has helped me focus on what I really want out of my career


My absolute favorite show right now is "From Scratch" on Netflix, starring Zoe Saldaña. It shows those experiences and relationships that we're all familiar with, but in such a beautifully done way. I also thought "The English" with Emily Blunt was just extraordinary.

"Steel Magnolias" is my all-time favorite movie — I can quote it. When I was very young, we had a family tragedy, like in the movie. So seeing a story that deals with sorrow and grief be told by such incredible actors with heart and humor made me feel less alone. I want to be able to do that as an actor, too.

When I first came across the script for "Firefly Lane," I was at a point in my career where I had no idea what was going to happen next. I didn't have a plan. I'd been asking myself, "What do you want to do, Katie? What direction do you want to go in your career? What kind of stories do you want to tell?"
It's sad that it took me so long

in my career to ask myself those questions. I'd started to realize that I needed to be clearer about what I wanted if I was going to put in so much time and energy and make sacrifices with my family.

I was in Toronto working on "Suits" when I first got the "Firefly" script. I went and bought the book and read it between scenes on set, and I ended up in tears because I was so moved and swept off my feet by the story.

It had everything I'd decided I wanted in my next project: the heart, the love, the exploration of grief, and the humor. I also love that it's about women — it's not a romance between lovers, it's about two women and their lifelong love for one another as friends. I feel like this is the kind of story I want to tell.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×