Cate Blanchetthints that her retirement from acting could be on the horizon. Blanchett’s career as an actor dates back to the early ’90s, with her big break coming later in the decade withElizabeth(1998), with her role as Elizabeth I earning her an Oscar nomination. In the following years, Blanchett would appear inThe Talented Mr. Ripley(1999) and, crucially, as Galadriel in Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy. More recently, audiences saw Blanchett inDisclaimer(2024), an Apple TV+ miniseries, andSteven Soderbergh’s acclaimedBlack Bag(2025).
Despite Blanchett’s continued success and acclaim in Hollywood as both an actor and a producer, she now hints in an interview withRadio Timesthat her time as an actor could be coming to a close. In the interview, Blanchett suggests that calling herself an “actress” may not be accurate asshe is seriously considering leaving the profession for good to pursue other interests. Read her comment below:
“It’s because I’m giving up… My family roll their eyes every time I say it, but I mean it. I am serious about giving up acting. [There are] a lot of things I want to do with my life.”
What This Means For Cate Blanchett
Her Acting Legacy & Upcoming Projects Explained
Blanchett has been nominated for a total of eight Oscars in her career, winning two. She took home the Best Supporting Actress statue for her role inThe Aviator(2004) and won Best Actress in 2014 forBlue Jasmine(2013). She was most recently nominated for theacclaimedTár(2022), and was also widely celebrated for her role inCarol(2015). Purely on an acclaim and talent level, then, Hollywood would be losing a supremely important figure if Blanchett were to retire.
Blanchett has also, however, in addition to starring in awards fare, been a major presence in Hollywood projects with broader audience appeal.Her role as Galadriel in bothThe Lord of the RingsandThe Hobbittrilogiesremains some of her most widely-seen work, and she also played villains inIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull(2008) andThor: Ragnarok(2017). This is in addition to her voice acting role as Valka in the animatedHow to Train Your Dragonfranchise.
Blanchett will not be reprising her role as Valka for the upcoming live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonremake.
It’s not clear exactly when Blanchett plans to retire, but she only has two projects on the horizon at the moment. One isFather, Mother, Sister, Brotherfrom director Jim Jarmusch, which is expected to release this year, and the other isAlpha Gang, an alien invasion comedy with a star-studded cast that includes Dave Bautista, Channing Tatum, Zoë Kravitz, Steven Yeun, Léa Seydoux, and Riley Keough. The latter is a film that she also produces, andit’s possible that she could continue to serve an active role in Hollywood as a producer, which she doesn’t address withRadio Times.
Our Take On Cate Blanchett’s Possible Acting Retirement
Hollywood Would Be Losing A Singular Talent
Blanchett’s effortless ability to bounce between prestigous awards movies and popcorn flicks has made her one of the most interesting and reliably entertaining actors working in Hollywood today.Blanchett has a uniquely commanding and somewhat mysterious screen presence as an actor, and these qualities elevated projects from the celebratedTárto the far more divisive fourthIndiana Jonesmovie. It’s not clear how many more movies Blanchett will star in before her potential retirement, but each one definitely just became a little more special, knowing it could be the last.
