Kathy Bates on When She’ll Actually Retire, Her 100-Lb. Weight Loss and Leaning Into Ageism for ‘Matlock’ Reboot
variety.comEmily Longeretta Before landing the lead role in “Matlock,” Kathy Bates was “contemplating semi-retirement.” Now, she might never stop. “My friends say I’ll probably be like Molière and die in my chair on the stage,” says Bates, “because it really is a life force for me.” Ever since her first role in Miloš Forman’s 1971 film “Taking Off,” she has worked consistently.
But it wasn’t until Bates was 42, when she won a best actress Oscar for playing the malevolent Annie Wilkes in “Misery,” that everything changed. “I always knew going into this business that it was going to take me a while because I wasn’t a beauty queen,” the actor, 76, tells Variety. “I have to say I give an inner wink when I see friends who have been beauty queens who are no longer working because of ageism, and in my case, I’ve been able to continue working for many years because I don’t look like that.
I don’t think I would have gotten the role in ‘Misery’ if I had been a beauty queen.” She borrows a quote from her character Annie Wilkes: “Kathy Bates is not the movie star type.” Now Bates, who has had a prolific television career with 13 Emmy nominations and two wins, is proving once again that she is the TV star type — by stepping into the lead role for CBS’ reimagining of “Matlock” (she’s also an executive producer).
In the legal drama, which premieres Sept. 22, Bates plays Madeline “Matty” Matlock, a 70-something lawyer who joins an esteemed New York law firm.
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