Katie Holmes is loving life right now.

It’s been nearly two years since the 35-year-old actress divorced ex-husband Tom Cruise, and she is busier and happier than ever.

Speaking with Today show host Matt Lauer last week, Holmes shared about life after Cruise, her role as mother to eight-year-old daughter Suri Cruise and portraying an empty-nesting mother in her new film, The Giver.

“I’m a risk-taker,” Holmes told Matt Lauer of her decision to play the unnamed mother of the hero Jonas — played by Brenton Thwaites — in the movie based on Lois Lowry’s beloved young adult novel. “I love adventures and new things.”

Holmes said it was easy to approach her role in The Giver.

“I approached it like all mothers when their child is leaving the nest,” said the Dawson’s Creek alum. “There’s a pain. There’s a loss. That’s how I approached the character.”

.@MLauer chatting with Katie Holmes in Studio 1A pic.twitter.com/aFBCgQeRIA

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 6, 2014

In the interview, Lauer referenced her escalation to superstar status following her marriage to Cruise and asked if she wishes she could go back to the days when she wasn’t the focus of so much attention.

“Do you ever think you would make a deal and trade some of that fame to go back to that person you were beforehand?” Lauer asked.

“You know what?” Holmes replied thoughtfully. “I never really look back. I just approach life [taking] it one day at a time. I’m really excited about where I am right now. I’ve had some really wonderful creative experiences. I’m just really grateful.”

Holmes enjoyed an idyllic life growing up in Toledo, Ohio with a strong, supportive family and says she aspires to give her daughter a similar experience full of the same love and support she experienced, albeit in a very different environment from the one in which she was raised.

“Of course you try your best. I try very hard because I’m very grateful for my upbringing, my parents, my siblings. I try to do what they did for me for my little one,” said Holmes. “The most important thing for me is letting her know how proud I am and her accomplishments mean everything. Whatever I do is whatever. It’s really just about her. That’s what I think is most important.”

Image via Wikimedia Commons