Cate Blanchett Says She’s “Serious” About Leaving Acting: “There’s So Much More I Want to Do”

Cate Blanchett has been one of the most respected actors of her generation — and now, she’s openly talking about stepping away from it all.

In a new interview with Radio Times, Blanchett didn’t sugarcoat her intentions. “My family roll their eyes every time I say it, but I mean it,” she said. “I am serious about giving up acting. There are a lot of things I want to do with my life.”

That doesn’t mean she’s disappearing tomorrow. But for the two-time Oscar winner, the idea of continuing indefinitely in front of a camera just doesn’t hold the same weight it used to. After decades in the spotlight — including recent work in Black Bag alongside Michael Fassbender — Blanchett is reaching for something beyond the red carpets and talk show appearances.

She spoke openly about how fame has always felt foreign to her. “I make more sense in motion,” she said. “I’ve spent a lifetime getting comfortable with the feeling of being uncomfortable.” From late-night shows to film festivals, she’s never fully embraced the performance of celebrity. “Soundbites of things I’ve said — pulled out and italicized — they sound really loud. I’m not that person.”

That discomfort isn’t new. At the Rotterdam Film Festival, she admitted she never saw herself working in film at all. “I was resigned, happily, to a career in theater,” Blanchett said. “There was a sense women had a certain shelf life in the industry. I didn’t think I was that girl.”

She never expected to belong — and even now, with decades of accolades, she still enters spaces not expecting to be accepted. “I’ve always felt like I’m on the periphery of things,” she said. “So I go with curiosity into whatever environment I’m in.”

Up next, Blanchett will appear in Jim Jarmusch’s Father, Mother, Sister, Brother alongside Adam Driver, Vicky Krieps, and Tom Waits. She’s also recently taken the stage in a new West End production of Chekhov’s The Seagull.

But don’t expect her to stick around forever. She’s been clear — acting has given her a lot, but it’s not all she’s here for.