Cate Blanchett On Her 'Fatalistic' Approach to Working Motherhood
 Asadorian-Mejia/Splash News Online |
For Cate Blanchett, becoming a mom-of-three while maintaining an acclaimed acting career has come at a price, but it was one she was happy to pay.
“All I can think about is what I’ve gained,” she insists in a new interview with the Times Online.
“I’ve had to say no to things because I was pregnant, but then I had a baby, so it didn’t seem like a sacrifice. I’m quite fatalistic — if something doesn’t happen, then something else will.”
At the moment, Cate’s “main priorities” are sons Dashiell John, 8, Roman Robert, 5 ½, and Ignatius ‘Iggy’ Martin, 22 months, as well as the Sydney Theater Company, for which she and husband Andrew Upton serve as artistic co-directors.
Iggy is an “early riser,” so Cate starts her day around 5:30 a.m. “After breakfast, I walk the kids to school,” she reveals, noting that Dashiell and Roman attend a state primary school at the end of the street.
Keeping disruptions to their schedules at a minimum means that — for now — Cate is saying ‘no’ to most film offers. “It used to be a question of ‘Who’s directing it?’ Now it’s, ‘How long is the shoot and where are they filming,’” she explains. “Recently I said yes to something because filming is in the Easter holidays; The children need to be in school now but that’s okay [because] it’s good to be focusing on the theater.”
And while she won’t tour with any of their productions, Cate says that she is at ease in the theater and so are her boys.
“When they come backstage, you don’t want to exclude them or make them feel secondary. I try to include them; in fact, it can be pretty magical for them.”
With that said, if a project is appealing enough to lure her away from home, Cate says she has found ways to make it work. While filming Robin Hood in California, for example, the boys attended a nearby Montessori school. “I’d take off my wig, put on my hat and go to pick them up,” she shares.
“It has to work for my family, otherwise I can’t do the job.”
Click below to read about Cate’s indulgences.
The landscape of her work isn’t the only thing that’s changed since Cate became a mom, however. When asked about her fitness routine, she admits that she used to frequent the gym three to four times a week before welcoming the boys.
Postpartum, she tried to exercise twice a week but the late hours at the theater combined with the early start to her day made it difficult. “It just didn’t happen,” she admits.
As a result, Cate says that her slim physique is largely attributable to diet alone. “We eat organic food and I don’t eat red meat.”
As for her “indulgences,” Cate says she has a few — and a “bath and a facial” top the list!
“The children understand that when I have the mask on, it’s mummy time — it’s the working mother’s best friend, because you may be exhausted, but you don’t want people to know. I might also relax in the evening with a vodka and tonic.”
Source: Times Online
