The New Boy

Did You Know..

Cate Blanchett (Actor) .. Sister Eileen

Born: May 14, 1969 in Melbourne, Australia

Best Known For: Elizabeth and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Early-life: Born Catherine Elise Blanchett on May 14, 1969, in Melbourne, Australia. Her older brother Bob works in computers, her younger sister, Genevieve, is a theatre designer. Her father, a Texan advertising executive, died when Blanchett was 10. She began appearing in and directing plays while still at school. After a brief spell at the University of Melbourne, she made her screen debut in an Arab boxing movie while travelling in Egypt. On her return to Australia, she studied at the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art.

Career: Blanchett started out on the Sydney stage, in both straight dramas and musicals. She made her TV debut in Police Rescue in 1993. Other brief small-screen roles followed, until two miniseries, Heartland and Bordertown, got her noticed. The movies Oscar and Lucinda, and Thank God He Met Lizzie were well-received, but it was 1998's Elizabeth, for which she received an Academy Award nomination, that made her a star. She reprised the role in sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Other notable projects include The Talented Mr Ripley, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Aviator (for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Robin Hood. In 2013, she won an Oscar for Blue Jasmine in the Best Actress category.

Quote: 'If you know you are going to fail, then fail gloriously!'

Trivia: Blanchett voiced the character Valka in How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014).

Aswan Reid (Actor) .. New Boy

Deborah Mailman (Actor) .. Sister Mum

Warwick Thornton (Director)

11:05 pm - 12:35 am, Tuesday, July 28 on BBC Two England (2)

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