Every time she comes around, Cate Blanchett commands a lot of attention. Now, the 45-year-old star of the silver screen has piqued everyone's curiosity after revealing that she's been intimate with women.
The reveal came in an interview with Variety. She was discussing her new movie, "Carol," directed by Todd Haynes and based on "The Price of Salt," a 1952 Patricia Highsmith novel. The story depicts a love affair between Blanchett's character Carol, a charismatic New Yorker, and Therese, a younger department store clerk played by Rooney Mara.
Given the relationship of the female leads, Blanchett was asked about her experience portraying a lesbian, and if "Carol" was her first time being with another woman.
"On film — or in real life?" Blanchett responded coyly.
Pressed about whether she's been with women in the past, she answered: "Yes. Many times." Blanchett didn't however go into further detail.
Maybe it's because Blanchett shares Carol's preference of not relying on labels to define sexual orientation. In envisioning the personality of the protagonist, Blanchett said she never thought about it and thinks Carol didn't, either.
To get a good grasp on what the era was like, and to delve deeper into the persona of Carol, Blanchett said she read a lot of girl-on-girl books from the time. She also consulted with Sandy Powell, the film's costume designer, about erotic parts of the body — considering errogenous zones that aren't necessarily obvious to anyone but a lover.
That may be something that Blanchett and Mara explore as Carol and Therese in a hotel love scene. But while it won't be overly racy – she clarified that wasn't the vision for the film – the scene is memorable because it represents the consummation of Carol and Therese's relationship.
Blanchett is not sure how Hollywood will react to the film, acknowledging the preference for male-dominated stories that pervade the big screen. She was however firm in saying that it's time for movies to serve all audiences.
"People want to see good films," she added.
"Carol" will be premiere on May 17 at the Cannes Film Festival.
