Since her film debut in Milos Forman’s 1971 comedy Taking Off, credited for a cameo as Bobo Bates, Kathy Bates has turned in a number of memorable performances in movies, TV and stage — winning an Oscar (and four nominations), two Emmys (and 14 nominations), two Golden Globes, two SAG Awards and other honors for an exemplary career.
She again is winning praise and Emmy buzz for her role as crafty lawyer Madeline Matlock, after becoming the oldest Emmy nominee ever for Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama Series last year. The hit CBS show has been renewed for a third season and will be returning midseason next year. Bates joins me for this episode of my Deadline video series The Actor’s Side to talk about a career that’s still going strong.
We definitely cover the waterfront here, right from the beginning and including her yearlong run in the Broadway hit ‘night Mother and her extreme disappointment that she didn’t get the opportunity to play the role in the film version (Sissy Spacek did); her life-changing role and Oscar win for Misery; as well as appearing on stage at this year’s Oscars to honor the film’s director Rob Reiner; going nude with Jack Nicholson in a hot tub in About Schmidt (another Oscar nomination); working for Clint Eastwood in Richard Jewell (another Oscar nomination); the advice from Dustin Hoffman in her first major movie role for Straight Time; plus memories of Titanic, The Waterboy, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Dolores Clairborne, Primary Colors and more. She also remembers playing Jay Leno’s vicious Tonight Show producer Helen Kushnick in The Late Shift, for which she won SAG and Globe awards; and her continuing run on Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story, a series she is going to be returning to next season for another go-round.
Then, of course, there is Matlock, and why that show is defiantly not a updated remake of the Andy Griffith original but a clever reinvention that puts a whole new spin on a lawyer series.
To watch our conversation and to get the “actor’s side” of things from Kathy Bates, just click the link above.
Join me this season every Tuesday and Thursday for a new edition of The Actor’s Side and every Monday and Friday for a new Behind the Lens.
