Cate Blanchett Interview
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Cate Blanchett's crowning glory By Kate Sole
Cate Blanchett is, quiet literally, the current reigning queen of Hollywood.
The 38-year-old actress has donned her crown for a second time to reprise her role as Britain's 16th century monarch, Queen Elizabeth I, in 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age', and already has Tinseltown buzzing with Oscar rumours.
It has been almost 10 years since Blanchett teamed up with director Shekhar Kapur in 'Elizabeth' to play the Virgin Queen, and her return to the regal role sees her portray a much older monarch struggling to contain her feelings towards adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh for fear of losing her crown, while preparing to lead her troops into battle against the Spanish.
Much as Elizabeth confronted the Spanish Armada head on and unflinchingly, Blanchett looked at the prospect of taking on a character already portrayed by so many greats before her, including Dame Judi Dench, Dame Helen Mirren, Bette Davis and Anne Marie Duff, without hesitation.
She said: "It's actually very comforting to know your sitting in a long and glorious legacy of actresses who have played Elizabeth I. I mean, she is constantly reinvented. "I'm absolutely all for absorbing all of those influences so you understand the pedigree of the part as much as you understand the figure in history." Director Kapur had no doubt Blanchett would easily live up to her majestic predecessors.
Praising her acting ability, he said: "She is like a finely-tuned acting instrument. Her mind, body and emotions are all in tune with each other. She has keen intellect and lives emotionally.
"You can not play a violin unless your hand and mind are absolutely in tune. Cate is like that when she acts."
One of the most important scenes for both Kapur and Blanchett was recreating the iconic moment in history when Elizabeth travelled to Tilbury, Essex, to address her forces on the battlefield as they awaited the Spanish Armada. Both director and star admitted the sequence not only required an abundance of research, but also a heavy dose of artistic licence, as the exact words and details of that day have been a source of raging debate for centuries.
Blanchett revealed the team even looked to images of Joan of Arc for inspiration, a move she joked was almost too daring to contemplate.
But, ultimately it was all about trying to do justice to what was one of Elizabeth's most remembered speeches in her long reign.
She said: "We talked about trying to create an image that would somehow match the sense of awe and shock and wonder that the troops much have felt that their monarch, and a female monarch, went to the front line on battle and was prepared to lay down their life."
Taking a step away from Elizabeth as a monarch, Blachett was also keen to reveal another side to the Virgin Queen as a woman struggling with the ageing process.
She added: "This is a woman realising and having to accept she is getting older. It was a huge issue for Elizabeth, because her fecundity and her virginity were her political power. And when that was beginning to wane, it was destabilising to her."
Starring opposite an accomplished cast including, Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh, Jeffrey Rush as Sir Francis Walsingham, and Samantha Morton as Mary Stuart, Blanchett proves she is once again a formidable talent far and apart from many of her peers.
But we have come to expect nothing less. Whether playing the elf queen Galadriel in 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, an adulterous teacher having an affair with a 15-year-old boy in 'Notes on a Scandal', or the iconic Katherine Hepburn in her Oscar-winning performance for 'The Aviator', Blanchett becomes her characters so absolutely and with such subtle ease, directors are lining up to cast her in their movies.
In fact, Blanchett is involved in two of the most anticipated cinematic offerings. The fact they are at opposite sides of the movie spectrum, one being a blockbuster action adventure, the other a sensitive biopic, only adds testament to her talent.
Firstly, she takes on one of seven Bob Dylan personas in 'I'm Not There'. Her performance as Dylan in his electric phase has already earned her a Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival in September and sees her hotly-tipped for another golden statue at next year's Academy Awards.
She has also just finished shooting her part in the long-awaited fourth Indiana Jones movie, 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'. However, with cast and crew sworn to secrecy, Indie fans will have to wait until next year to see whether Blanchett will help or hinder our favourite intrepid archaeologist.
The actress has even joked that revealing any of the closely-guarded plot details would put the lives of her beloved children, five-year-old Dashiell and three-year-old Roman, in danger.
She quipped: "I can't reveal anything, they would tie my children to the top of a flagpost."
Blanchett is fiercely devoted to her life with her children and her husband of 10 years, screenwriter Andrew Upton, who she "adores deeply".
And the actress is preparing to bring together both her loves - her family and her career - when she and her husband take on the role of co-artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company early next year.
The couple have signed three-year contracts meaning they are locked into working with the company for nine months of the year, with just three months to pursue other projects.
The star revealed one of the main reasons for her decision to take up the opportunity was a longing to return home.
She said: "Andrew and I realised how much Australia meant to us. We saw the theatre community in Sydney and we felt, well, we know you all; we have worked with many of you. We have tried to live a few other places, but something really hit us in the gut. It's just a feeling about what home is.
It became clear to us, particularly after the children were born, that family and the theatrical community in Australia were a large part of who we are."
Blanchett's decision to take a step back from Hollywood could add weight to reports she is expecting a third child, after she sported what appeared to be a baby bump while leaving New York's Guggenheim Museum recently.
The rumours were further fuelled by the actress' decision not to drink alcohol at an after party to celebrate the London premiere 'Elizabeth' earlier this month.
But Blanchett would never by crude enough to encourage gossip by commenting on baby rumours.
No, she is far too dignified to allow her private life to overshadow her work, and with talent in abundance there is little to worry about there.
Inspiring, gifted and dedicated, if she was wasn't Australian we would surely see a third dame added to the long legacy of actresses to take the throne as Queen Elizabeth I.
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