Cate Blanchett: who does she play in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and Desert Island Discs comments explained

Viewers who have watched Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio on Netflix might be surprised to learn that Academy Award winning actress Cate Blanchett features in the new movie.

The actress, who has been nominated for the Best Actress Golden Globe following her performance in upcoming movie Tar, directed by Todd Field has not commented on her portrayal of the animated character.

Pinocchio is Blanchett’s second collaboration with Del Toro, following her standout performance in the supporting role of his film Nightmare Alley which launched in 2021, however, this time around her character is not easily recognisable.

Blanchett recently appeared on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs where she gave insight into how she prepared to play the role of Bob Dylan in the 2007 film, “I’m Not There.”

So who does Cate Blanchett play in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and what did she say on Desert Island Discs? Here’s everything you need to know.

Who is Cate Blanchett?

Blanchett is one of the most well-known actresses in Hollywood. Born in Australia, the 53-year-old got her big break in her role as a young Queen Elizabeth I in the 1998 film Elizabeth, earning her an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award for best actress. She went on to play the role of Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings franchise.

She won her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2005, for her critically-acclaimed portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese‘s The Aviator and would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in Woody Allen‘s comedy-drama Blue Jasmine.

Blanchett married playwright and screenwriter Andrew Upton in December 1997, with the pair meeting sometime in the early 1990s. The couple have three sons and a daughter: Dashiell John Upton (2001), Roman Robert Upton (2004), Ignatius Martin Upton (2008) and Edith Vivian Patricia Upton who they adopted in 2015.

Who does she play in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio?

Blanchette plays the role of Count Volpe’s (Christopher Waltz) monkey Spazzatura, which is Italian for garbage. The character is voiced by the actress, but it isn’t easily identified as Spazzatura speaks in animal noises, with the exception of one scene when he talks using puppets. This is the second Del Toro film Blanchette has worked on, following her role in Nightmare’s Alley in 2021.

What did she say about Bob Dylan role on Desert Island Discs?

Blanchett recalled playing the role of Bob Dylan in the 2007 film “I’m Not There” during an interview for BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. Directed by Todd Haynes, the actress was one of six actors who played Dylan, covering him from 1965-1966.

She told Lauren Laverne: “I played him at the time when he went electric, when he was really giving the finger to the audience and saying, ‘I’m not a folk singer.”

Blanchett went on to discuss how she prepared to play the male role, explaining: “A friend of mine who’s a make-up artist said to me a few days into the shoot: ‘Put a sock down your pants! I said: ‘What?!’ She said: ‘You’re on the bed, put a sock down your pants,’ and I said, ‘Oh, OK’ and I did! And I didn’t look back. It absolutely helped,” Blanchett laughed.

Has she been nominated for a Golden Globe?

Blanchett has been nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of Lydia Tar in the movie Tár. The film is set in the world of classical music, centring on one of the greatest living composers Lydia Tár, who is the first-ever female music director of a major German orchestra.

Directed by Todd Field, the psychological drama has been met with rave reviews and a 2% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It will be available to watch in cinemas in the UK from 13 January.