Kathy Bates Recalls Losing Out on Romantic Lead in 34-Year-Old Al Pacino Film (Despite Originating the Role)

Matlock star Kathy Bates has long been adored by movie lovers, in part due to her performance in the Stephen King adaptation Misery. Because she won an Academy Award for her role in the film, fans may presume she was subsequently in high demand for major movie roles, but Bates says that wasn’t the case.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Bates said it was “like a desert” with the Hollywood movie offers after Misery. One role she was hoping to get was as one of the titular leads in Frankie and Johnny, the 1992 film by director Garry Marshall. Bates had previously portrayed Frankie in the original off-Broadway play that the movie was directly based on, and coupled with her recent Oscar win, she might have seemed like a shoo-in for the part. However, Bates claims Marshall told her that she wasn’t good casting for the movie, feeling that filmgoers wouldn’t be able to buy her in a “romantic” lead role.

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“He couldn’t make the leap that people would see me onscreen kissing someone,” Bates said of the role, which went to Michelle Pfeiffer. “Me actually kissing a man onscreen — that would not be romantic.”

Me actually kissing a man onscreen — that would not be romantic.

Bates added, “Well, I’ve always had that,” noting that she onc heard her own father telling her acting teacher, “You know, she’s not conventionally attractive.”

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Bates also remembered another incident that got to her concerning filmmakers doubting her for these kinds of roles. In 1991, there was a press tour for At Play in the Fields of the Lord, in which she played the wife of Aidan Quinn’s character. Bates said that a journalist once asked Quinn, “You’re a leading man. Is it believable that you and Kathy would be married?” Afterward, Bates said she “went upstairs, locked the door and I cried like a kindergartner.”

Kathy Bates Has Earned High Praise For Her Matlock Role

Bates has more recently been getting a lot of praise for the work she’s doing in the new Matlock series, which has a second season in the works after finding success. Bates was even given a standing ovation at the Critics Choice Awards this year for her Matlock role. While she’s seen some ups and downs with her career, Bates noted how wonderful it feels to be on the upswing at this point.

“It’s the affirmation of a career that hasn’t always been up here with the A-team going to Ibiza or whatever, you know?” as Bates said. “It hasn’t been a straight trajectory.”

Matlock is streaming on Paramount+. Episodes of the series can also be found streaming for free on the free streaming platform Pluto TV. Season 2 is currently in development.

Source: Vanity Fair

Frankie and Johnny

Release Date

October 11, 1991

Runtime

118 minutes

Director

Garry Marshall

Writers

Terrence McNally

• Michelle Pfeiffer

  Frankie

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