Woody to Cate on 1st "Blue Jasmine" takes: Awful
Update: The 60 Minutes report "Cate Blanchett" aired on Feb. 16, 2014. Lesley Stahl is the correspondent. Rich Bonin, producer.
Cate Blanchett tells Lesley Stahl her first attempts at playing her Oscar-nominated role in “Blue Jasmine” were called “awful” by the film’s director, Woody Allen. The respected Australian actress also says that watching Ruth Madoff’s 60 Minutes interview helped her feel “the sense of shame” she infused into her portrayal of the humbled socialite Jasmine French. Blanchett’s interview will be broadcast on 60 Minutes Sunday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
“First day, [Allen] said ‘It’s awful. You’re awful,’” Blanchett recalls. Allen, famous for giving his actors very little direction, didn’t offer any and so, she did her take again. “And it was still awful,” she tells Stahl. “Well, obviously, it got a bit better because…you know, people have gone to see it,” she jokes.
In addition to the Oscar nomination, her performance won her the Golden Globe for best actress.
Known for doing a lot of research, Blanchett said she watched Morley Safer’s 60 Minutes interview of Ruth Madoff, whose fall from grace due to her infamous husband’s epic Ponzi scheme closely tracked her character’s plight. “I think that what I got from…that Madoff interview was the sense of shame and I found that very useful,” says Blanchett.
Blanchett discusses some of her other demanding roles, particularly on stage as Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire.” “At the time, …you do eight shows a week, my hair was falling out by the end…I think I was just so exhausted by it,” says Blanchett.
Stahl traveled to Australia to interview Blanchett, where she also spoke to her husband, playwright and director Andrew Upton.