Kate Bosworth reveals heartwarming reason she accepted Along for the Ride role

Along for the Ride is coming to Netflix this Friday, May 6. The new movie is based on Sarah Dessen’s novel of the same name and the first of several Dessen projects at the streamer. Ahead of the premiere, we had the chance to talk to actress Kate Bosworth, who plays Heidi in the movie.

Auden (Emma Pasarow) opts to spend a quiet summer before college in the seaside town of Colby with her father (Dermot Mulroney) and his wife, Heidi. They’ve just had a new baby. But while in town, Auden meets the mysterious Eli (Belmont Cameli) and he helps her do all the things she missed out on while she was in high school.

One of the main reasons I enjoyed the film and jumped at the chance to chat with Bosworth is because the character of Heidi is far from a stereotypical stepmother portrayal in the movie. Instead of being shown as a one-dimensional antagonist, Heidi is incredibly warm and genuinely loves Emma. She is proud of her and constantly tells everyone in Colby about her achievements. It was such a nice change of pace.

And it turns out Bosworth had a very real and heartwarming connection to the character, too, which we got to discuss with her!

Kate Bosworth reveals heartwarming reason she accepted Along for the Ride role

In the actress’s real life, she has been a stepmom for many years to a young woman named Jasper. They met when Jasper was around 12 and she’s now 24.

On her reasoning for wanting to take the role of Heidi, Bosworth said, “Lets shatter that stereotype of the ‘evil stepmom’ and bring some warmth to the party and some love to the party and bring some connectivity. My relationship with [Jasper] has only been that. I always say that my greatest and most important role in my life has been to be a stepmom, so this role, in many ways, was the most personal, the most intimate, and in many ways, the most important.”

If you’d like to hear Bosworth talk about it herself, you can watch the full clip below:

There’s also a lovely scene in the movie where Heidi meets with Auden’s biological mom (Heidi’s husband’s ex-wife), played by Andie MacDowell. Instead of bickering, the two actually share an important moment together, one Bosworth calls “pivotal.”

"“That’s been the case in my own life, I’ve sat with Jasper’s biological mom and had these big life moments. There was a lot of important personal parallels for me in this movie,” says Bosworth, continuing, “I felt that it was important for people to see. To have this inspiring, hopeful, loving family dynamic. And though flawed, and though real, it’s the love that connects them all.”"

Stream Along for the Ride this Friday, May 6, exclusively on Netflix.