“I was a stalker”: Cate Blanchett Became an Obsessive Fanatic After Hearing Peter Jackson Was Making the Hobbit Films

Australian actress Cate Blanchett is regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation and is recognized for her versatile work across movies and on-stage. She rose to worldwide recognition after she portrayed the character of Queen Elizabeth I in 1998’s Elizabeth. The actress’ biggest commercial success came with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, for which she was highly praised.

The actress is lauded for her ability to ace a wide array of diverse accents, including English, Irish, French, and various regional American accents. Critics have described Blanchett as someone who has always been daring, uncompromising, and perpetually resolute. The actress shared in an interview what it felt like to return to one of her beloved characters after a while.

Cate Blanchett shared returning to play Galadriel felt like ‘going back to summer camp’

Actress Cate Blanchett played elf leader Galadriel in Peter Jackson‘s directed The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The trilogy was a massive success and became popular with every film’s release and is now regarded as one of the greatest fantasy movies of all time.

Blanchett’s performance in the trilogy was highly appreciated, and it allowed the actress to diversify her range of roles in the future.

The actress returned to play the character in 2012’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey followed by the other two movies as well. In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, the actress revealed that she did not expect that her character would return. But she added,

When I heard Peter [Jackson], Fran [Walsh], and Philippa [Boyens] were going to embark upon The Hobbit, I was a stalker, and I literally called my agent pretty much every day to say, ‘Is there any word yet? Is Galadriel going to be in it?’ I kept getting an answer that Peter did not know yet.

Blanchett mentioned that she understood why she wasn’t receiving an answer because Galadriel does not appear a lot in The Hobbit, so she was sort of prepared, but then she was informed that her character would appear in the movie in a small part. The actress added that it felt like she was going back to summer camp, mentioning that it’s such an amazing thing to return to something that began almost 12 years ago.

The Australian actress goes on to say that Peter Jackson was the reason she was so excited about being a part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. She complimented the director by stating that she did not think anyone would have been able to do it better than Jackson.

She mentioned that he has such an extraordinary sense of the sublime and the grotesque and that, according to her, is a very unique quality to have.

Cate Blanchett touched upon her potential return for The Lord of the Rings spin-off

The actress, according to Irish News, was asked if she would return to The Lord of the Rings world with the upcoming spin-off movie as Galadriel. To which she said,

I would do anything with Andy Serkis, anything; I love him to death. That bunch of people has been like a life raft for me, and I adore Andy, so yes. I finally made my way into The Hobbit.

Blanchett mentioned that neither she has been approached for making a return nor has she reached out to the team as of now. But she’d love to return if the opportunity comes her way.

The actress had also appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, where she went on to reveal that she didn’t get much for the role she played in The Lord of the Rings. She said,

No one got paid anything to do that movie. I wanted to work with the guy who made Braindead. I basically got free sandwiches; they fed me, and I got to keep my ears, which is something.

The actress also added that women don’t get paid as much as one thinks they do. Cate Blanchett was highly lauded for her work in the films and fans would love to see her again in the LOTR world if something works out for her character.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is available to stream on Hulu.