Is there any actor quite as versatile as Cate Blanchett? The 53-year-old double Oscar winner has built a reputation as a chameleonic character actor since arriving in Hollywood from her native Australia. She’s played monarchs, movie stars, a conservative activist, an elf and the goddess of death – not to mention a prolific conductor in Todd Field’s critically lauded Tár. Her next move? To take on the part of a renegade nun living in a remote Australian monastery in the ’40s, of course, in Warwick Thornton’s sweeping drama The New Boy.
Ahead of its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, we shortlist 11 of her best films and TV shows that you need to rewatch now.
Elizabeth (1998)
As the deathly pale, redheaded Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur’s stately biopic, Blanchett shot to fame and earned her first Oscar nomination. She received yet another when she reprised the role in Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), painting a vivid portrait of a fiery ruler presiding over a divided nation.
The Talented Mr Ripley (1999)
In Anthony Minghella’s twisted thriller about a social-climbing sociopath (Matt Damon), Blanchett delights as bubbly American heiress Meredith Logue. Her onscreen wardrobe, which consists of showstopping ball gowns, cashmere sweaters and wasp-waisted coats, is reason enough to watch.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
A rare source of tranquility in an ancient world ravaged by violence, the elf queen Galadriel advises Frodo (Elijah Wood) as he embarks on a perilous journey in Peter Jackson’s fantasy epic. Blanchett revisited the eerie, captivating character in the film’s two sequels as well as The Hobbit franchise.
Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
Jim Jarmusch’s irreverent episodic saga sees Blanchett take on two roles: a prim version of herself, and her fictional cousin Shelly, a slouchy, shaggy-haired rocker who is resentful of her relative’s fame when the pair meet for coffee. There’s no better testament to the actor’s incredible range.
The Aviator (2004)
To embody screen legend Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese’s sumptuous period piece, the actor adopted a striding gait, an overblown speaking style, and donned elegant, roomy suits. In the end, she outshone co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, winning her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Notes on a Scandal (2006)
At a school in London, a teacher approaching retirement (Judi Dench) is intrigued by a free-spirited new recruit, Sheba (Blanchett), in Richard Eyre’s gripping tale of obsession and blackmail. When the latter sleeps with a student (Andrew Simpson), the former tries to take control of her life.
I’m Not There (2007)
Six actors explore Bob Dylan’s contradictory public personas in Todd Haynes’s wildly experimental music biopic, but the most startling transformation is Blanchett’s. With a curly mop of hair, dark glasses and an expression of weary contempt, she skewers her critics and defies all convention.
Carol (2015)
Moody and magnetic, Blanchett’s turn in Todd Haynes’s sweeping romance remains one of her most beloved. She plays a wealthy woman in the midst of a divorce in the 1950s who falls for a young photographer (Rooney Mara), and risks everything by continuing their forbidden love affair.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Chris Hemsworth’s Thor meets his match in Blanchett’s Hela, the swaggering, raven-haired goddess of death, in Taika Waititi’s heartstopping superhero blockbuster. Expect elaborate headgear, devastating one-liners and action sequences that keep you on the edge of your seat.
Mrs America (2020)
The fight for women’s liberation in the 1970s is viewed from both sides in Dahvi Waller’s masterful nine-part series. Its crowning glory is Blanchett, who is hawk-eyed, brittle and relentless as Phyllis Schlafly, a lobbyist who furthers her political career by opposing the US’s Equal Rights Amendment.
Tár (2022)
Trailblazing, tyrannical and utterly terrifying – Lydia Tár, the formidable conductor, composer, author and EGOT whose world slowly collapses in Todd Field’s tense thriller about institutional abuses of power, might just be Blanchett’s most compelling creation to date.
