After positioning herself for a run at an Oscar with her celebrated portrayal of slain Irish journalist Veronica Guerin earlier this year, Cate Blanchett is closing out 2003 with a bang. This week, she and Tommy Lee Jones ride into theaters, guns ablazin’, in Ron Howard’s western thriller “The Missing.” In mid-December, she’ll appear in another film you may have heard a little something about, “The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of The King.” Two big movies. Both expected to generate big at the box office. Guess that means Blanchett is officially a big star. And you know what we do with big stars at the Daily Press, don’t you? We talk to ‘em … for you.
Question: What was it like working with Ron Howard and Tommy Lee Jones?
Cate Blanchett: The experience of working with Ron was pretty close to perfect for me because he has a complete and utter understanding of what it takes to craft an exciting and engaging film that takes an audience along with it. But he never sacrifices the detailed moments; the human moments. Acting is all about revealing what it’s like to be human. Now, I don’t know whether it’s because he’s also an actor, or simply because he’s Ron, but he’s the most uncomplicated, frank person I’ve ever met in my life. You always know where you stand with him. And I have infinite respect for Tommy Lee as an actor. He has an ability to access such poignant vulnerability, not to mention how generous he was with me.
Q: “The Missing” is not your grandfather’s cowboy and Indians movie. What sets it apart it from traditional westerns?
CB: To me, the difference is that in the classic westerns the female characters are either nonexistent, or they’re the goodhearted prostitute, or the maiden who needs to be rescued. They’re not an essential part of the narrative. They’re not riding alongside the men. They don’t have the same potency as they do in “The Missing.”
Q: Your performances in “The Missing” and “Veronica Guerin” have generated Oscar buzz. Would winning a Best Actress statue be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream?
CB: Film was never a Mecca for me, and frankly I never watched the Oscars growing up. It wasn’t something my family culture was particularly focused on. But of course I think about it now because you guys talk about it so much.
Q: Speaking of Oscar, Peter Jackson, who directed you in “The Lord of The Rings” trilogy, has been shut out the past two years. Do you think the third time will be a charm for him?
CB: With or without Oscars, Peter Jackson is a genius and everybody knows it. Awards would be nice, but he’s got the absolute respect of his peers and the public and I’m sure deep in his heart that makes him feel great. With or without the Oscars, he will go on to make other genius films.
Q: What was it like to work on an epic project such as “The Lord of The Rings”?
CB: I shot all of that in three weeks about 1,000 years ago (laughs). I’ve always wanted to work with Peter Jackson, and I’d work with him again in a blink of an eye. But it was a very surreal experience for me because they shot the film for so long, and I was just in and out very quickly.
Q: You’re starring as Katherine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator.” Any apprehension about playing someone so well-known and beloved?
CB: I’m trying to represent somebody in the same medium in which they were iconic. The audience rightly feels they have a sense of ownership over her screen persona. But it’s for Martin Scorsese, the script is extraordinary, and it’s an enormous challenge. I’m not a fearful person, and when I see something that looks insurmountable, I’m likely to charge headlong towards it and give it a go.
Q: What else do you have going on these days?
CB: I’m in the middle of working on a Wes Anderson film, and I’m three months pregnant. So there’s a lot going on in my life right now. After this film, I’ll be taking a break for my sanity. Having a rich and exhilarating life means I have a lot to draw on when I go back to work.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 26, 2003. Read the original PDF.