I've had the pleasure of meeting Cate Blanchett in person twice. The first was in 2013, when she played a deranged maid in The Sydney Theatre Company's (STC) production of The Maids, directed by Jean Genet, opposite French veteran Isabelle Huppert.
The next time they met was at last year's Glastonbury festival, when she appeared at Sparks' live show, donning a bright yellow suit and scarlet headphones and contributing an expressive dance.
Two encounters gave me a glimpse into the two-time Academy Award winner's diverse career: not only is she one of the world's finest actors, but she is also a producer, fashion icon, climate activist, and UNHCR global goodwill Ambassador.
Kate now lives in the English countryside with her writer and director husband Andrew Upton and their four children. I asked her what "Cat-only" activities she would do with me if we could meet offline instead of via Zoom.
She joked: "Probably a walk, I'd even like it to be written on my tombstone: Put on your boots and go for a walk." The family laughed at the idea every time, and the children would say, 'It's not a walk, it's a hike every time!' '"
Kate told me that as a child growing up in a quiet suburb of Melbourne, her father died when she was 10, leaving her mother to raise three children alone (Kate has an older brother and a younger sister).
So, "You have to entertain yourself. We would play a game called 'coin-walk,' where we flipped a coin, heads to the left, tails to the right, and we would go around and around, exploring different natural areas in the neighborhood. Sometimes when I'm walking too far from home, I have to find a phone booth and ask my mother to pick me up."
Kate loves to laugh and never ceases to amaze me with her self-deprecating expressions and occasional sexual jokes. When I asked her, for example, if she still sought everyone's approval, she replied that denying that fact would be "like saying I never pee in the shower." But when I ask her if she misses the old days, as an actress with so many years of work, she answers the question about nostalgia in a serious way.
"As we all know, the 'good old days' don't exist," she noted. "It's an excuse for a lot of very bad actions by arrogant, violent white people to get back to the good old days." The film industry still has a long way to go when it comes to gender equality.
For example, of the 1,600 most popular films released between 2007 and 2022, only 6% were directed by women.
In order to change this situation, Kate recently made a bold attempt to collaborate with Dr. Stacy L.Smith from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, a think tank at the University of Southern California. Along with Coco Francini, a partner in Upton's production company Dirty Films, she launched a "Proof of Concept Accelerator" aimed at improving society's perception of women and marginalized groups.
The program offers up to eight filmmakers $50,000 to produce a "proof-of-concept" feature film or television show, as well as mentoring programs to help them get into the business.
"Basically, any industry that is stuck in a rut or a rut loses its creativity and becomes dead," Kate explains.
But she also expected pushback in her efforts, "and soon there will be people who will politicize all of this or even see it as an invasion." I don't know when inclusion turns into aggression, but some people, not knowing how to look for opportunities, are instinctively wary of it all."
Kate is a straight shooter and she doesn't shy away from the difficult questions. In fact, she likes this kind of communication.
In 2022, she played a brilliant but cocky conductor in the film "Tar," to mixed reviews: Some liked the character's intimidating, otherworldly temperament; But on the other hand, the film's treatment of issues such as "cancellation culture" and "awakening" politics has also angered many.
Todd Field, writer and director of Tarr, said of his experience working with Kate: "She's a fearless artist, and she wants you to make her feel awe. She's defiant, forceful and fearless, and that's just stunning."
Although she bears no resemblance to the tough Lydia Tar in the movie, you can still feel that she always approaches her work in an almost greedy way.
Kate loves to say "yes" to work and will take any job she wants, coincidentally she is also the face of Giorgio Armani Si (" Yes "in Italian) perfume.
So, when faced with such a variety of types of work and projects, how will she choose?
After a moment of reflection, she replied, "There has to be something awe-inspiring, or unknown, beyond my knowledge, in that job to interest me." That's what I really want." And, of course, good communication, a term she often uses to describe her collaborative nature.
