Kathy Bates is openly talking about leaving the industry and retiring. Her final project is the CBS reboot of Matlock, which is set to air on September 22.
“This is my last dance” – she said in an interview with the New York Times.
In reality, Bates said she was ready to retire early after a production she had dedicated so much to at the end of last year fell through. But in January of this year, agents sent her another script, which gave her another chance. Despite her initial reservations, the actress read the script and found what she needed. The character turned out to be a brilliant and cunning woman who, because of her age, is invisible to many. Bates agreed to play because the character, like her in her private life, is a tireless seeker of justice.
So the idea of retirement has been put on hold for now, and “Matlock” may be the last chance to admire her talent and vigour.
“Everything I had prayed for, worked for, strived for: suddenly I was asked to use all of it,” she said. “And it was exhausting,” she added.
“I never really thought about being a movie star. I just wanted to be the best I could be,” she told the New York Times.
Bates is best known for her Oscar-winning role as Annie Wilkes in Rob Reiner’s film “Misery” (1990), based on the novel by Stephen King. She later played in many acclaimed series, such as: “Six Feet Under”, “The Office” and “Family Matters”. She won two Emmy Awards for her roles in “Two and a Half Men” and “American Horror Story: Coven”. We could also recently see her performance in the Netflix film – “A Family Matter”.
Matlock, her final series, will have 18 episodes and is a reboot of the show that aired from 1986 to 1995. The series also stars Jason Ritter, Skye P. Marshall and Beau Bridges.
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