Auntie Kathy Bates — yes, the queen who smashed ankles in Misery and your hearts in American Horror Story — almost quit Hollywood to become a mysterious lady in a beret sipping espresso in France. 🥐🎭
But then… BOOM. ✨Plot twist✨
In a spicy sit-down for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” (aka Celebs Trauma Dump With Vibes), Kathy spilled the ancient tea with Billy Bob Thornton (who, let’s be real, always looks like he’s either about to start a jazz band or rob a train). And what she said? ICONIC.
“I didn’t even watch the original Matlock,” Kathy said, clutching her pearls and our collective nostalgia. “People kept asking and I was like… girl, no. I peeped a couple episodes for homework, but our version is giving ✨new era✨ not retirement home rerun.”
She said she felt like the role was literally made for her. And get this: the network originally wanted Matlock to be some 30-something TikTok-core great-great-granddaughter of the OG Andy Griffith. But then show creator Jennie Snyder Urman took a stroll, maybe got possessed by the spirit of wisdom, and boom — she decided to write about older women feeling invisible.
Cue Kathy Bates popping out of the void like: “Did someone say ‘undervalued aging queen’? 👑”
At first, Kathy wasn’t into it. “I thought it was just gonna be another episode-of-the-week situation,” she confessed while sipping metaphorical chamomile. “I was like, meh. Should I just pack it up, sell my house, and go become an iconic ex-actress ghosting people in the French countryside?”
But THEN. The twist. The last page of the script hit her like a double espresso and a surprise Oscar nomination.
“I got to the end and I was like, OH??? I’M IN. This role? This is my Roman Empire.”
Kathy admitted she felt like Hollywood was putting her in tiny little background roles in big fancy movies that nobody was watching — like she was some gorgeous extra in her own career. And for a hot minute, she was seriously about to ghost the whole industry and flee to croissant land.
BUT! Now she’s Matlock-ing her way into Gen Z’s hearts, solving crimes and slaying ageism at the same damn time. 🔍💅
So if you ever feel invisible, underappreciated, or like you’re about to emotionally spiral into a one-way trip to Paris, just remember: Kathy Bates almost did too — and now she’s serving legal looks and murder mystery realness on your screens like a 76-year-old boss witch.
#JusticeForKathy
#MatlockRebootIsThatGirl
#ParisCanWait 🧳