Cate Blanchett wishes the ABC happy 90th birthday and praises station for helping break into acting
Cate Blanchett has heaped praise on The Australian Broadcasting Corporation to celebrate the national broadcaster’s 90th birthday this week.
Appearing in a promo video on Saturday, the revered Hollywood actress, 53, shared her fond memories of watching the ABC as a child, while also thanking the corporation for helping her break into screen acting.
‘The ABC gave me the opportunity to take my very first baby steps in front of a camera,’ the Lord Of The Rings star revealed.
Very happy returns! Cate Blanchett has wished the ABC a happy 90th birthday and said the broadcaster helped her break into acting
‘And in fact, my very first time ever in front of a camera was in an ad for the ABC bookshop. And then I was in an episode of Police Rescue, GP, and the wonderful series Heartland,’ she added.
Blanchett, who recently won the prestigious Chaplin Award for acting, also credited the ABC for shaping her formative years with its Australian-centric content.
‘The ABC has also been an enormous part of my childhood. Playschool, of course, but also Sweet And Sour, Four Corners, Backchat, Countdown, Earthwatch. It’s a huge part of my childhood,’ she insisted.
‘The ABC gave me the opportunity to take my very first baby steps in front of a camera’: Blanchett heaped praise on ABC in a promo on Saturday
Most recently, Blanchett’s 2020 drama series Stateless aired in Australia on the ABC, months before it was released globally on Netflix.
‘[The ABC is] also part of my present. Developing the wonderful series Stateless,’ she said.
Blanchett, who shares sons Dashiell, 20, Roman, 18, Ignatius, 14, and daughter Edith, seven, with playwright husband Andrew Upton, said she ‘passionately hopes’ the ABC will be also ‘part of her children’s future’.
The clip ended with a beaming Blanchett declaring: ‘Happy birthday ABC. I adore you, I value you, I treasure you, you’re part of the way I think and feel about the world and Australia.
’90 years young, happy birthday,’ Blanchett added, blowing a kiss to the camera.
The ABC was formed on 1 July 1932 and is a publicly-owned body that is funded predominantly by government grants.
Next generation: Blanchett, who shares sons Dashiell, 20, Roman, 18, Ignatius, 14, and daughter Edith, seven, with playwright husband Andrew Upton (right), said she ‘passionately hopes’ the ABC will be also ‘part of her children’s future’
While the ABC is meant to be politically independent, many have accused the broadcaster of maintaining a left-wing bias in recent years.
Blanchett is is known for holding left-wing views herself, especially when it comes to environmental issues such as climate change.
Blanchett has worked tirelessly for the last 25 years, racking up dozens of credits in theatre, film and television.
Flashback: Blanchett began making movies in her native Australia but soon won worldwide acclaim for her role as Queen Elizabeth I the 1998 historical drama Elizabeth (pictured)
A regular on the global awards circuit, she has received major prizes from all over the world, including two Oscars, three BAFTAs, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, an Order of Australia, and in France a Chevalier for her contribution to the arts.
Born in Melbourne, she started her movie career in her native Australia but made an international breakthrough in 1998 with the historical drama Elizabeth.
By the early 2000s, global audiences knew her from the blockbuster Lord of the Rings series. She later appeared in the Hobbit trilogy.
Iconic: Cate’s role as Galadriel in Peter Jackson’s blockbuster Lord of the Rings film trilogy brought the Australian actress to an international audience
Source: | Dailymail.co.uk