There are actresses who disappear into a character and others who make a character disappear into them. Cate Blanchett achieves both; she can bring to life Queen Elizabeth I of England (Elizabeth), for which she received her first Golden Globe for Best Actress in 1999, or impersonate Bob Dylan (I’m Not There), earning her a second Golden Globe in 2008, this time for Best Supporting Actress, or embody one of Hollywood’s most renowned and idiosyncratic figures, Katharine Hepburn (The Aviator).
Although the chameleon-like actress has reigned in major productions (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Thor: Ragnarok), she honed her skills on the stage, performing in plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, and David Hare, among others, and in independent cinema, where she has played the villain (The Shipping News), a martyr (Victoria Guerin), a pioneer in the Wild West (The Missing), and a scorned woman (Blue Jasmine), for which she received her third Golden Globe in 2014.
Her latest work, Where Would You Go, Bernadette, is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Semple and was directed by Richard Linklater. In it, Blanchett plays an architect, housewife, and mother of a preteen daughter, devoted to maintaining an old mansion, which she dislikes leaving, and to coping with her relationships with neighbors and the mothers at her daughter’s school, whom she detests.
A frustrated woman seeking personal fulfillment embarks on a journey to Antarctica. Once again, the actress immerses herself in her role, portraying a woman alone against the world, a performance that earned her a tenth Golden Globe nomination, this time for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. “Bernadette is a frustrated woman because she isn’t doing what she loves.
It’s true that she failed as an architect in the past and hasn’t known how to deal with that failure. This leads her to be sarcastic and to show her anger towards others,” the actress says of her character.
The Australian actress (born in Melbourne in 1969), who now lives in London with her husband and four children, has other interests beyond acting.
Appointed a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador in 2016, Blanchett dedicates some of her time to visiting refugee camps, health centers, and shelters, and she provides support to women facing social exclusion.
She recently visited women’s centers in Bangladesh and met with refugees and people displaced by the Syrian war in Lebanon and Jordan. Blanchett is one of the few women in Hollywood with enough influence to carry a film and to begin to change things in the film industry.
Her involvement in the Time’s Up movement, founded by several film stars to combat sexual abuse, has had a significant impact. A prime example of this was the protest she led atop the steps of the Grand Théâtre Lumière at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
There, accompanied by 82 women, all film workers, she read a manifesto demanding “real equality and diversity in the workplace.” In recognition of her extraordinary contribution to the arts, philanthropy, the film industry, and the community, the actress has received, among other honors, the Australian government’s Centenary Medal, the title of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters from the French government, as well as doctorates in Letters from the University of South Wales, the University of Sydney, and Macquarie University, and a fellowship from the British Film Institute.
Is there anything Cate Blanchett can’t or doesn’t know how to do? It seems not. She thrives on pushing boundaries and seeking new challenges. The awards and honors he has received have not made him rest on his laurels; on the contrary, they represent one more reason to continue along this path, linking filming and theater rehearsals with interventions in different socio-political forums.
December 19, 2019 Paz Mata Golden Globe Awards