Cate Blanchett has worn some unforgettable looks across her career, but one transformation in her career stood out for a very personal reason.
While looking back on one of her most iconic roles, the actress revealed that her Bob Dylan-inspired appearance changed her so completely that even her husband, Andrew Upton, reacted in a way he had never before.
Cate Blanchett’s ‘Dylan’ Transformation Was Convincing Enough To Surprise Andrew Upton
Blanchett revisited the look during an interview with Vogue for the outlet’s “Life in Looks” series. While looking back at her red carpet outfits and film costumes, she singled out her ‘I’m Not There‘ appearance as the one costume that did not exactly appeal to her husband. In the 2007 film, Blanchett played Jude Quinn, a persona inspired by a particular stretch of Bob Dylan’s life and career.
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The role required her to take on a sharply different appearance, complete with unruly, curly brown hair, structured blazers, Dylan’s iconic shades, and a cigarette in many frames. The transformation also came right after a very different project. Blanchett had wrapped ‘Queen Elizabeth: The Golden Age‘ just one week before moving into ‘I’m Not There‘, which made the shift from royal gowns to Dylan’s electric-era styling even more dramatic.
Still, Blanchett found the change freeing rather than uncomfortable. She said, “But it was so liberating. I had fantastic eyebrows and sideburns.” Then she added the personal detail that made the costume even more memorable: “It was the only time my husband hasn’t wanted to kiss me.”
Blanchett Embraced The Androgynous Silhouette Todd Haynes Wanted
Blanchett’s role was not meant to be a simple Bob Dylan impersonation. Director Todd Haynes built I’m Not There around different characters who reflected various sides of Dylan’s public image, creative identity, and mythology. The actress explained, “Todd had divided Bob’s personas — ‘Bob,’ like I know him — Dylan’s personas into many different characters.”
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Instead of using one actor to follow Dylan’s life from beginning to end, the film split his identity across several performers. Blanchett also remembered the cast involved in the project. She mentioned that “the late great Heath Ledger” played one of those personas, while Christian Bale also appeared as another version. Blanchett described her own role by saying, “and I played this electric silhouette.”
That “electric silhouette” became the main focus of what Haynes wanted from the performance. Blanchett explained, “I think he wanted a woman inside this period of Dylan’s musical career. It meant that there was a separation between how iconic this period and this look of Dylan’s was and the character playing, because you know there’s a woman inside that.”
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