Kathy Bates says her forthcoming television role will also be her last.
In an interview with The New York Times published Sunday, Bates announced that the highly anticipated reboot of “Matlock,” due out later this month, will be her final project as an actor before retirement.
“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 told the outlet. “And it’s exhausting.”
“This is my last dance,” she added.
The original “Matlock” aired on NBC, and later on ABC from 1986 to 1995. The series starred Andy Griffith as criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock, who is noted for his ability at uncovering clues overlooked by law enforcement officials and, hence, securing an acquittal for his clients.
The new “Matlock,” which premieres Sept. 22 on CBS, follows Madeline “Matty” Matlock (played by Bates), a gender-swapped version of Griffith’s character who must grapple with ageism and adversity when she rejoins the workforce as a senior citizen. Along the way, the character finds ways to use her profession as a conduit for personal grief.
As the Times noted, “the idea of playing a woman out to right wrongs” appealed to Bates, who had initially planned to retire after a less-than-pleasant experience working on a recent film, which she did not disclose by name. She opted to pause her retirement plans after reading the “Matlock” script.
A Memphis, Tennessee, native, Bates made her first on-screen appearance with a small role in the 1971 comedy “Taking Off,” in which she was credited as “Bobo Bates.” She spent most of the 1970s and ’80s appearing in small TV roles and on the New York stage, nabbing a 1983 Tony Award nomination for her performance in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “’Night, Mother.”
Bates’ breakout role came in 1990, when she starred in the big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s “Misery.” Her chilling portrayal of nurse-turned-unhinged literary fan Annie Wilkes ― a role that had been rejected by Anjelica Huston and Bette Midler, among other actors ― won her an Oscar.
The success of “Misery” catapulted Bates onto the Hollywood map at age 41. She went on to find further acclaim in films like “Fried Green Tomatoes,” “Titanic” and “About Schmidt.” In recent years, she’s experienced a professional resurgence with a number of scene-stealing performances in the “American Horror Story” anthology series, as well as a principal role in Netflix’s “Disjointed.”
In her Times interview, however, she said she still felt like a “misfit” when compared to many of her acting peers.
“I never really thought about being a movie star,” she said. “I just wanted to be the best I could be.”