Blanchett goes Dublin in role of crusading journalist

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Cate Blanchett plays an Irish journalist in "Veronica Guerin." Gannett News Service Cate Blanchett Age: 34 Birthplace: Clayton, Victoria, Australia Spouse: Andrew Upton, filmmaker Child: Dashiell Next up: "Veronica Guerin" opens Friday; "The Missing" premieres Nov. 19 in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto, and elsewhere Nov. 26; "The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King" debuts for Christmas.

"I'm always fascinated by things and people I know little about," said Blanchett, in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "Given the variety of technique, the more you do, the more instinctive you become."

Blanchett, 34, has the title role in "Veronica Guerin," based on a zealous real-life Irish journalist. Guerin put her own life in danger as she investigated and wrote about Dublin's menacing drug scene in the mid-1990s, crusading to shut down the pushers and the traders. The Touchstone film opens Friday in Hawai'i theaters and across the country.

"Veronica Guerin" was a revelation, a learning experience and a fulfilling opportunity to mold a vibrant character, said Blanchett.

"When (producer) Jerry Bruckheimer sent me a biography, I was gripped by her focus, and made a real effort to learn about who she was from family and friends," she said. "I think she had perspective.

"She was incredibly driven, extremely focused and serious. Her family, and those who knew her on a social level, all said she was a fantastic sportswoman and a great soccer player, and she had a wonderful sense of humor. She was a journalist, yes, but all things to all people."

Guerin wound up a national heroine — but paid a dear price.

"I had read all her articles and books, positive and negative, and she gave a lot of radio and TV interviews," said Blanchett. "I watched (video) endlessly, to get close to her voice, her mannerisms, her looks. I think the way someone speaks says a lot; you hear stress, by the way she breathes; the way you breathe reveals the way you think. With this kind of research, we worked on the script, to flesh out the character."

Of the drug culture depicted, Blanchett said: "I don't think anyone growing up in the last 50 years could not know somebody who had a run-in with drugs, either friend or family. But I don't like to reduce a character to how it links to me; I want to rise to the character. I knew nothing about the drug problem of Ireland, though I knew a little about the IRA, and I made it a point to learn."

Blanchett was amused by one facet of Guerin's character: Guerin's lousy performance behind the steering wheel and her difficulty in getting re-licensed. "I love driving," Blanchett chuckled. "I have no trouble getting a driver's license (unlike the character). But I don't know if I'd buy a red sports car (a Toyota sports model in the movie). Too obvious. Too telling. But the provocative color reveals a lot about a person. Police seek you out. Me, I drive a white Volvo; great on the autobahn in Germany."

Blanchett said viewers have an edge in watching her new film, "because they know far more about the future than Veronica does."

With her background in theater, she welcomes roles that enable her to vary her acting technique. "The more you do, the more instinctive you become, inhabiting a role," she said. "The better your technique, the more you research, everything becomes second nature. I don't want an audience, however, to see an actor doing his or her homework on camera; I want them to be transported, by the script; and I love a script that makes demands."

"Veronica Guerin" is one of three films Blanchett will be seen in this fall and winter. The other two are Ron Howard's western thriller, "The Missing," in which she co-stars opposite Tommy Lee Jones, and "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," in which she plays — for the third time, in the last episode of the Peter Jackson trilogy — Galadriel, the elfin queen of Lothlorien.

She's also prepping to portray Ava Gardner to Leonardo DeCaprio's Howard Hughes in Martin Scorcese's "The Aviator," in pre-production and pegged for release in December 2004.

Blanchett, who is from Australia (the country's stars include Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger and Geoffrey Rush), seeks out unusual, edgy and colorful roles. And if her awards and nominations are a barometer, Blanchett has had a good batting average. She won a 1998 Golden Globe award as Best Actress (drama), portraying Queen Elizabeth I in "Elizabeth" (she also was nominated for an Academy Award), and her work in "Bandits" (2001), "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999), "The Shipping News" (2001) and "The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001) earned her a clutch of nominations.