Cate Blanchett won best actress for her acclaimed performance as a composer-conductor in Tár at the British Academy Awards (BAFTAs) in London.
The actress from Ivanhoe, Australia, who was an ambassador the for the UK/Australia Season last year, was recognised for her performance as Lydia Tár, the celebrated leader of the Berlin Philharmonic whose life unravels in director Todd Field’s #MeToo era drama.
The two-time Oscar winner described the role, which has her on screen for virtually the entire film, as a “very dangerous and career-ending, potentially” undertaking.
As she has done in earlier awards speeches – including one decrying the “televised horse race of it all” – Blanchett paid tribute to her fellow nominees: Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Viola Davis (The Woman King), Ana de Armas (Blonde), Danielle Deadwyler (Till) and Emma Thompson (Good Luck To You Leo Grande).
“We know we’re just the tip of the iceberg every year,” Blanchett said. “These idiosyncratic, remarkable performances just break down the myth that women’s experience is monolithic.
“So thank you to BAFTA for recognising all of us. We sit in dialogue with one another.”
