Kathy Bates has enjoyed a decades-long career in Hollywood and has thrown herself into one last role.
The Oscar-winning actress revealed that her starring role in the upcoming CBS “Matlock” reboot will mark the end of her time as an actress during an interview with The New York Times published Sept. 8. Bates told the outlet that she had seriously contemplated her retirement in advance of accepting this role after experiencing a moment on the set of a movie shoot that “soured” her views on acting. She called her agents and told them to pull the plug on her career, but after reading the script for “Matlock,” the famous actress decided to take on one final project.
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – JANUARY 27: Actress Kathy Bates arrives at the Australian Academy Of Cinema And Television Arts’ 1st Annual Awards at Soho House on January 27, 2012 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Bates, 76, said her last movie experience was such a disaster that she found herself alone on her couch, sobbing and questioning why she would subject herself to the same treatment again.
“It becomes my life,” she said. “Sometimes I get jealous of having this talent. Because I can’t hold it back and I just want my life.”
The famous actress admitted she takes on every aspect of her character leading up to a role and her approach to acting becomes very all-consuming.
Kathy Bates watches over James Caan in a scene from the film ‘Misery’, 1990. (Photo by Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)
When she was presented with the script for “Matlock,” Bates said she was enticed by the role and felt that it enabled her to embody all aspects of her acting chops — a great way to end her long reign in Hollywood. She decided to pause her retirement plans and put herself back into the spotlight once more. Bates threw all her energy into the production of “Matlock,” as she took on the role of the protagonist, a woman who feels that age has somehow made her invisible, according to The New York Times. She connected to the character and gave her all for her her very last time in front of the cameras.
“This is my last dance,” Bates told The New York Times.
“Everything I’ve prayed for, worked for, clawed my way up for, I am suddenly able to be asked to use all of it,” she said.
“And it’s exhausting,” she added.
Bates’ first acclaimed role was in “Misery,” for which she won an Oscar. The actress also won Emmy awards for “American Horror Story” and “Two and a Half Men.”
Some of her other memorable roles include “Six Feet Under,” “The Office,” as well as “Harry’s Law” and “Disjointed.” (RELATED: Evangeline Lilly Announces Her Retirement In Shocking Message)
“Matlock” streams Sept. 22 on Paramount+.
