Kathy Bates says work has become a “life force” after weight loss
Kathy Bates has vowed to continue acting as long as she can – even if it means dying on stage.
While discussing her latest role in the Matlock reboot, Bates said her work has become her “life force” and her recent work 100 pound weight loss has revived her spirit in the past seven years to continue working, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
With a career spanning more than three decades, it’s no secret that Bates, 76, has long been one of the hardest-working actresses in Hollywood.
While she “considered semi-retirement” before landing her latest role, she recently revealed that she could continue working until her dying breath.
In a recent interview with VarietyBates said: “My friends say I’ll probably be like Molière and die in my chair on stage, because it really is a life force for me.”
A major contributing factor to Bates’ workhorse mentality is her revived after lose weight.
The Fried Green Tomatoes star said: “It has helped me a lot that I have lost 50 kilos in the last six or seven years.
“I don’t think I’ve been this thin since I was in college.”
She was at her heaviest while working NBC‘S Harry’s Law in 2011. Her weight not only affected her stamina, but also her mental health.
Bates recalled, “I had to sit down every moment I could. It was hard for me to walk. I’m ashamed that I let myself get so out of shape, but now I have a tremendous amount of energy.”
Now that she has downsized, retirement is no longer in the near future. Bates said she hopes to continue doing it for “several years.” Matlock under her belt before she reconsidered stepping away from Tinsel Town.
While considering her next chapter, Bates wrote that not being considered a “beauty queen” was a positive factor in her career.
While some actresses stepped out of the spotlight as they grew older, Bates continued to work and was offered leading roles in popular shows like American horror story.
She said: “I always knew it would take a while when I started in this business because I wasn’t a beauty queen.
“I have to say that I wince internally when I see friends who were beauty queens who no longer work because of ageism. In my case, I was able to continue working for years because I don’t look very good.” Like this.
‘I don’t think I would have gotten the part Wrong if I had been a beauty queen.”
Her latest project centers on septuagenarian lawyer Madeline “Matty” Matlock, who often faces age discrimination from colleagues – although, like Bates in real life, she often uses the criticism to her advantage.
Bates reflected on having to “dig deep” to get into character as Matty.
She added, “There’s a lot of my mother in Matty – or, let’s say, there’s a lot of what my mother could have been if she’d had the chance to follow her dreams and become a lawyer.
“I think about the frustration of having those kinds of dreams and having that dream undermined by the times in which she lived.”
