Kathy Bates Retiring After Matlock Show: “This Is My Last Dance”

The post Kathy Bates Retiring After Matlock Show: “This Is My Last Dance” appeared first on Consequence .

Kathy Bates has revealed she is on the cusp of retiring from acting.

In a recent interview with The New York Times , the 76-year-old explained she was ready to end her career before landing the role of Madeline Matlock in the upcoming CBS reboot of Matlock .

“This is my last dance,” Bates said, explaining that she wants to regain control from the all-consuming pursuit. “Sometimes I get jealous of having this talent. Because I can’t hold it back, and I just want my life.”

However, those retirement plans were put on hold after Bates gravitated toward the script of the legal drama, in which she plays an older attorney who takes advantage of being “damn near invisible,” as her character puts it, to win cases.

“Everything I’ve prayed for, worked for, clawed my way up for, I am suddenly able to be asked to use all of it,” she said. “And it’s exhausting.”

Bates began her acting career in the early 1970s and found success in theater and small TV roles. Her breakthrough film was the 1990 Stephen King adaptation Misery , in which she played Annie Wilkes. Her performance in the role earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Some of Bates’ other standout performances include roles in movies like Titanic , Primary Colors , and About Schmidt , as well as TV series including Six Feet Under , Two and a Half Men , and American Horror Story . She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016.

The 18-episode first season of Matlock will debut September 22nd on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

Kathy Bates Retiring After Matlock Show: “This Is My Last Dance”
Eddie Fu