Cate Blanchett Says Talented Mr. Ripley Was One of Her 'Best Jobs' Thanks to Pizza and a Stay at This A-Lister's Place

Of all the films that Cate Blanchett has made in the past few decades, The talented Mr. Ripley stands out as a particularly unforgettable experience.

The two-time Oscar winner, 55, opened up about her career at the Toronto International Film Festival’s ‘Talking With…’ series on Sunday, September 8.

In front of an audience at the Royal Alexandra Theater during her 90-minute conversation with TIFF host Cameron Bailey, Blanchett fondly reminisced about filming the 1999 thriller.

“It was one of my best jobs,” she said of the film based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel. The story revolves around Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), a murderous con man who infiltrates the life of rich man Dickey Greenleaf (Jude Law) and Dickey’s girlfriend Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Cate Blanchett on lunch with Queen Elizabeth — and asking her to fix Prince Philip’s DVD player

Blanchett had a supporting role as Meredith, a socialite who thinks Ripley is Dickey because he lied about his identity. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman played Freddie, Dickey’s friend who is suspicious of Ripley.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Matt Damon in ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’.

Phil Bray/Paramount/Miramax/Kobal/Shutterstock

The film is largely set in Italy, and filming took place there.

“It was so great — I had the best summer with Philip Seymour Hoffman … we went to a place called Fashion Pizza. We ate a lot of pizza. And I got Matt’s fantastic apartment because he had to be at the Four Seasons training every day, and I had to enjoy it,” she said with a laugh.

Blanchett, who has four children – Dashiell, 22, Roman, 20, and Ignatius, 16, Edith, 9, with her husband Andrew Upton, a screenwriter and fellow Australian – was relaxed and cracked plenty of jokes during the wide-ranging conversation.

At the start of the discussion, when Bailey mentioned that they would be showing clips from her films like AviatorBlanchett joked that she doesn’t like watching herself on screen.

Philip Seymour Hoffman 2013

Michael Kovac/WireImage

“Is there a barf bin?” she said with a laugh. “These things are not – not meant to be looked back on.”

Blanchett was in Canada to debut two projects at the festival: the limited-edition Apple TV+ Waiver and black comedy rumours.

IN WaiverBlanchett plays Catherine Ravenscroft, an investigative journalist who has built her career by uncovering other people’s secrets.

Her life is turned upside down when she receives an anonymous manuscript in the mail—a book whose main character appears to be based on Catherine, with a plot that uncovers her own long-buried secret. Sacha Baron Cohen and Kevin Kline star.

Cate Blanchett 2023.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Rumors features Blanchett as a fictional German chancellor attending a G7 meeting of world leaders that descends into chaos. Game of Thrones star Charles Dance plays the President of the United States.

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Source: HIS Education