She and her husband are good communicators. She recalls their years together as artistic director and chief executive of the Sydney Theatre Company from 2008 to 2014: "When we started working at the Sydney Theatre Company, the first thing Andrew did was take the desk away from his office and he said: "The office is supposed to be a place of conversation, and if the head of the company sits behind a desk with a computer and the artist sits on the other side of the desk, there are many problems with that." '"

She described the period as "one of the most fulfilling creative periods of my career to date." The couple were also responsible for transforming the company's buildings into examples of environmentally friendly design, including the addition of 1,906 solar panels on the roof and a 100,000-litre rainwater harvesting system under the roof.

Kate's choice of clothing also reflects her commitment to sustainability, as she likes to wear the same dress on different red carpets and is a big supporter of upgrading recyclable designs.

For example, when she attended the Louis Vuitton fall-Winter 2024 show in Paris, she wore a dress adapted from the 2023 Oscar evening gown; The Nicolas Ghesquiere gown worn to this year's BAFTA Awards was custom-made from second-hand fabrics.

In Kate's view, sustainable living is a good attempt to challenge yourself in creative ways.

"What really appeals to me about this approach is the opportunity to think outside the box, like we did with the green transformation of the Sydney Theatre Company," she said.

For her, the idea of re-dressing and re-using fashion is also a way to explore and learn from her past. As she says, "If we refuse to look back, we end up repeating ourselves in an unconscious way."

While she was referring to costumes, that philosophy has also been reflected in her recent work, such as Warwick Thornton's The New Boy, produced by Dirty Films, in which she plays a rebellious nun.

The film is set during a dark period in Australia's history, when the Australian government tried to isolate indigenous children and assimilate them by forcing them away from their parents and through cultural means.

Last year's Voice referendum against the appointment of indigenous representatives to parliament further drove a wedge between Australians.

New Boys is a poignant reminder of the legacy of Australia's past that still haunts the nation.

With the opportunity to make a film in southern Australia, Kate returned to Adelaide, where the Sydney Theater Company regularly toured.

She makes no secret of her desire to return to the theatre stage, telling me: "I feel like I need to stretch my abilities in this way and haven't done it in a long time." My skill in acting films owes a great deal to my stage experience. On stage, you can connect instantly with the audience from your heart."

When I asked her how she kept up with the world, she laughed and said, "Ride the subway around! In the subway, no one pays attention to anyone else, so it's a great place to observe all kinds of people."

When it comes to hobbies, she mentioned that she recently fell in love with cold-water swimming and always takes a lot of books with her when she travels.

She now carries copies of John Gray's "The New Leviathans," Angela Saini's "The Patriarchs" (" It's a great nonfiction book "), And Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. onway's The Collapse of Western Civilization.

She is always looking for more opportunities for creative exchange. "You just walk around and freely think about things and ideas, and every now and then it comes to your mind and says, 'Oh, this might be worth talking about,' and then you share it with other people." It's hard to imagine someone as influential as Kate enjoying hanging out, but she's certainly not a fan of the glitz and glitz of Hollywood.

"I'm not interested in the Internet," she admits. I'm an old-fashioned person when I call people and say, 'I have to work with you face to face.'"

In addition, many of the most productive discussions come from family members. "I have a lot of deep communication with my kids, and they like to constantly challenge me," she says.

Just like her childhood "coin walk", Kate still likes to feel lost: "Every time I come home, I like to deviate from the original route and choose a different road." Because I was curious, and I always thought, hey, I wonder what I'll see down that road."