Exclusive: Kathy Bates, 76, talks ‘regrets’ as she reflects on decades-long career in Hollywood

At 76 Kathy Bates has lived a life that many can only dream of: Oscar winner, Emmy winner, director, actor, Tony nominee and philanthropist.

Her career has skyrocketed again in recent years thanks to an award-winning turn on the CBS drama Matlock, and its come at the same time as a renewed fervor for female-led stories by female writers and directors for women over 40.

For too long, women have been expected to fade into the background when they hit their mid-40s, and Kathy, considered a frontrunner for an Emmy nomination for her work as the septuagenarian lawyer, has become a beacon of hope.

“I want women to not lose faith in what they’ve learned in their lives,” Kathy tells HELLO! 

“I don’t want to dwell on regrets or things that could have gone differently in the world, or in life. It’s difficult for women to be respected and so I think it’s important that we stand up for ourselves.”

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Speaking at TheWrap’s inaugural Showrunners & Creators Breakfast on May 21, Kathy was joined by her Matlock co-stars Skye P. Marshall and Jason Ritter who came together to support showrunner Jennie Snyder Ulman.

The end of Matlock season one came with a huge series of twists; Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) catches her ex-husband, and the father of her two kids Julian (Jason Ritter), red-handed with the Wellbrexa documents, the center of Madeline Kingston’s case.

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With Olympia now left with a tough decision to make – cover for Julian or reveal the truth – Matty has her own troubles, as her grandson Alfie’s biological father turns up on her doorstep.

“I was aware of how it would end –  I got a copy of the arc of the season – and also I had a hand in casting the young man, Nico Nicotera,who is Alfie’s father,” adds Kathy.

“I worked with him on Richard Jewell and he was in Sons of Anarchy, and I just really thought he would be wonderful for this role, so we grabbed him and everybody loved him, and in season two I think there’ll be a lot of Matty and Alfie’s father.”

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However, Kathy acknowledges that the end of season one has left Matty in quite the pickle, with Olympia discovering her big secret, Matty’s husband asking her to step down from the law firm, the arrival of her grandson’s father, and her guilt over lying to Billy (David del Rio) and Sarah (Leah Lewis).

“It is a big mess at the end so there’s all these different paths that are going to intersect; Maddie really had a plan for the first season and now that she’s gotten close to people – and then this man walks in the door – she’s now on her backfoot.”

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Kathy has been on board with Jennie since the early days, and is also an executive producer alongside NCIS’s Eric Christian Olsen.

The decision to make Alfie an addict when he was born was Kathy’s idea; “Jennie hadn’t thought of that yet, so we created that whole moment where that’s what made her daughter Ellie kill herself and it became a really deep part of the show.”

But despite her six decades in the industry – she made her debut in 1971 – Kathy says that she still has a “list of things that I need to work on”.

“I am able to watch the cuts when they come out and give my two cents, but I’m also able to see all my bad habits – I shake my head too much and sometimes my accent slips, so I’ve got a list of things that I need to work on”