Actress Kathy Bates has announced that she will be retiring from her career in the entertainment industry. In an interview with the New York Times, Bates revealed that her upcoming role in the new CBS series “Matlock” will be her final project.
Bates had already been considering retirement before accepting the role on “Matlock.” She explained that her acting career had consumed her and she felt ignored during a movie shoot that didn’t go well, which brought her to tears. Feeling overwhelmed, she expressed to her agents that she wanted to retire because acting had become all-consuming.
However, a few weeks later, Bates received a script for the rebooted series “Matlock” from her agents and decided to put retirement on hold. Although she wasn’t initially drawn to the original show, after reading the script for the new series, Bates resonated with her character and felt compelled by the idea of playing a woman seeking justice.
Bates described this opportunity as everything she had prayed for and worked hard towards throughout her career. She acknowledged that it was exhausting but also fulfilling to be able to use all of her talents in this final project.
“Matlock” follows Bates’s character as she reenters the legal profession as a senior citizen and uses cunning tactics to win cases and expose wrongdoing. Showrunner Jennie Snyder Urnman aims to explore how older women can often be underestimated or overlooked.
Throughout Bates’s five-decade-long career, she has achieved numerous accolades including an Oscar for “Misery,” Emmys for “American Horror Story” and “Two and a Half Men.” However, despite these accomplishments, Bates finds it difficult to celebrate due to challenges and injustices faced along the way.
Reflecting on past experiences like starring in “Misery,” where she played Annie Wilkes, Bates expressed disdain instead of pride. She often felt like a misfit during publicity rounds associated with films like these.
Being a movie star was never Bates’s initial goal when entering acting in the late ’80s; instead, she simply aimed to be the best performer possible.
Born on June 28th 1948 in Memphis Tennessee , Kathy bates studied drama at Southern Methodist University before moving New York City pursue an acting career . Her breakthrough came with Stephen King’s “Misery” (1990), earning critical acclaim along with an Academy Award for Best Actress . Throughout years , bates appeared several notable films such as “Fried Green Tomatoes” (1991) , “Dolores Claiborne” (1995) . On television , bates won Emmy awards guest appearance “Two Half Men” (2012) Madame Delphine LaLaurie American Horror Story .
After premiering on September 22nd CBS Paramount+ , Kathy bates will officially retire from acting following launch “Matlock.”
