Cate Blanchett: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

2. Queen Elizabeth I €“ Elizabeth (1998)

It only makes sense that an actor with the sort of regal presence and commanding power of Cate Blanchett would one day find herself playing royalty. In fact in this case it happened twice, as she reprised the part of Queen Elizabeth I in 2007's Elizabeth: The Golden Age, re-teaming with director Shekhar Kapur and some fabulous costumes to dispel all memories of Miranda Richardson in Blackadder. Costume dramas are the sort of bread-and-butter of your prestige actor, a chance to show off how good you are at talking all old-timey whilst also putting across a sense of gravitas. Despite not knowing what you're going on about. Kapur's films were far from your average historical dress-up game in a country house, however. For one thing, both Elizabeth films are only loosely based on true events, with Kapur opting to look more into the Queen as a character, rather than a pawn in grand political games. Which, again, is why Blanchett was on board as the titular monarch, bringing a dignity, grace and hidden depths. And great wigs.