Kathy Bates announces that she intends to retire from acting and considers 'Matlock' to be her final performance on stage.
In an interview with the New York Times, the esteemed Oscar-winning actress announced her intent to retire from the spotlight, but was enticed by the series after reading the script. As she put it, "This is my swan song."
The actress, who in 1991 secured a best actress Academy Award for her role in the chilling horror thriller "Misery", spoke about her lengthy career in Hollywood and how the new television series magnetized her from her decision to depart the industry.
"Everything I've wished for, strived for, scratched and clawed my way towards, I'm suddenly being asked to utilize it all," the 76-year-old actress confessed. "And it's draining."
She was frank in her discussion with the Times, disclosing her birth as the youngest of three sisters with her siblings being considerably older.
"As I aged, I came to realize that I wasn't meant to be," she shared. "That realization has shaped my transformation as a person, and who you are as a person, it's who you are as an artist."
Her portrayal of the psychotic recluse Annie Wilkes, who abducts a celebrated author in "Misery", propelled her career to unprecedented heights.
However, her enjoyment was short-lived.
"I never felt like I fit in or dressed the part," she admitted about her publicity rounds for the film and beyond. "I felt like an outcast. It's that line from 'Misery' where Annie says, 'I'm not a movie star.' And I certainly wasn't."
The actress has also garnered acclaim on the small screen with roles in shows such as "Six Feet Under," "The Office" and more recently "American Horror Story."
The revival of "Matlock," which originally starred Andy Griffith as the affable Atlanta attorney Ben Matlock and spanned from 1986 to 1995, provided Bates the chance to delve into a realm from the viewpoint of an elderly woman with her character, Madeline "Matty" Matlock.
"There's a peculiar thing about women as they age," Bates's character remarks in the "Matlock" debut. "We become almost ghostly."
"It's an advantage, because nobody anticipates us," she concludes.
"Matlock" is set to premiere September 22 on CBS.
The actress expressed her initial reservations about returning to acting, stating, "Despite retiring, the allure of this entertaining series brought me back to the screen." Later in the interview, she expressed her excitement about the character she would be playing, saying, "The entertainment value of portraying an elderly woman in 'Matlock' is something I couldn't resist."
