Cate Blanchett Is Filled With Regret Whenever She Finishes A Movie

Highlights

• Cate Blanchett struggles to leave film roles behind.
• She stays partially in character between takes.
• Blanchett believes letting her characters take over is an important part of her artistic process.

Thanks to being one of the most respected actors of her generation, Cate Blanchett has become richer than most of her co-stars. Blanchett has also made enough of a mark that she can outrage people with her opinions on a wide array of subjects.

A huge portion of the reason for her success is that Blanchett commits to challenging roles like the one in her movie Tár. Unfortunately for Blanchett, however, it turns out that level of commitment can be very painful for her.

Why Cate Blanchett Struggles To Leave Film Roles

During Cate Blanchett’s career, the widely respected actor has taken on a long list of roles in various movies. As a result, it would be reasonable for onlookers to assume that leaving roles behind would be easy for Blanchett simply based on repetition.

As it turns out, however, that definitely isn’t the case for Blanchett at all based on what she has said in the past. A perfect example of that is Blanchett once talked to the fantastic interviewer Sean Evans of Hot Ones fame about how much she struggles to leave film characters behind.

During her 2022 Hot Ones interview, Blanchett was asked if there were any film roles she wished she could revisit as she can with theater roles. Blanchett’s response was very telling about how sad she feels each time she finishes a movie.

“Probably the one I just did. I mean, it’s always the one I just did. But kind of for good reasons, not filled with regret. Just that I felt so, um I don’t know, alive.” During a separate interview, Blanchett touched on the same topic but seemed more melancholy about it.

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In 2015, Blanchett spoke to Vulture to promote her critically acclaimed movie Carol. During the resulting conversation, Blanchett was asked if she felt a “sense of postpartum loss after these shoots are over” and if roles are “hard to shake”.

At first, Blanchett spoke about how other things in her life make transitioning roles easier. “The next project helps you shake it, and the fact that I’ve got such a life outside work helps me shake it. You know, I’ve got four kids — they’re not interested in the detritus from me walking off set. That helps.”

Almost immediately after talking about mitigating factors like that, Blanchett became very open about her struggles. Based on what she told Vulture, Blanchett has a hard time each time she finishes a film role. Blanchett even has a hard time quitting characters people wouldn’t expect.

“But it’s a strange thing with filmmaking, because I’m always filled with regret on the last day of shooting when I think, I finally understand this character. That’s what I love about theater: You get to go out the next night and repair the fuck-ups that you did the night before, but with film, there is a strange sense of loss, because you have to let that person go … Even with someone who’s as detestable as the stepmother in Cinderella, there’s a kind of relish in playing her, and you have to let it go.”

Considering how successful Blanchett has been, it seems clear that she has a lot to be thankful for. That said, it does seem like having to regularly mourn leaving roles behind would be pretty rough.

What Kind Of Actor Is Cate Blanchett?

Throughout Cate Blanchett’s career, she has often been heralded as one of the best actors of all time. Seemingly capable of taking on just about any kind of role, Blanchett even won acclaim for her performance as Bob Dylan.

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Given everything Blanchett has achieved, it certainly seems like there should be classes about her acting decisions. After all, virtually all actors would love to have won and been nominated for as many Oscars as Blanchett has.

Despite that, the fact is that up until relatively recently, most people have known very little about what makes Blanchett such a good actor. In 2022, Blanchett revealed something that a lot of people didn’t know, that she sometimes can be a method actor.

When Blanchett spoke to IndieWire in 2022, she revealed that she stayed partially in character between takes during the filming of Tár. At the same time, Blanchett made it clear that she can be professional even as she stays in character.

Who Are The Most Famous Method Actors?

• Daniel Day-Lewis
• Al Pacino
• Jared Leto
• Robert De Niro
• Christian Bale
• Hilary Swank
• Joaquin Phoenix
• Natalie Portman
• Adrien Brody
• Heath Ledger

“There were some parts of the character’s situations or intensity of the focus that I didn’t quite drop in between setups.”

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Blanchett continued: “I don’t know if it’s from spending years and years onstage, but I have the ability to be objective and subjective simultaneously. You have to know where the camera is: OK, I’ve got to rotate more than three quarters because otherwise you’re not going to see into my eye and that’s really important.”

Blanchett then went on to explain why she believes letting her characters take over is a key part of her artistic process.

“At the same time, you have to allow this thing to flow through you. Todd always has the camera in the right position. So when he was setting up, I saw the position of the camera as a proscenium: If I stand stage-right, it’s going to mean something profoundly different than if I’m center-stage left.”

Blanchett continued, “You were very generous about letting us know what the frame was so we know how best to use it.

“I don’t know if you find this, Todd, but for me, it’s not so much that you take the character home each night.” Blanchett finished by saying, “It’s more about you focus on when you’re walking on the street at night during the odd day off we had. I would hear things differently. I’d come into a room and notice the curtain as opposed to the bathroom. Your focus shifts.”

Source: NewsFinale