Cate Blanchett’s Secret Role in Eyes Wide Shut Revealed
By the time Stanley Kubrick completed his illustrious film career, he had settled into a secluded life at his Hertfordshire estate. His aversion to Hollywood studios and desire for creative autonomy led him to remain in England, where he had relocated in 1961 to film “Lolita.” He purchased the iconic Childwickbury Manor in 1978 and lived there until his death in 1999. This choice, while allowing for artistic freedom, sometimes resulted in peculiar production challenges, notably when creating “Eyes Wide Shut.”
In a move that exemplified his meticulous nature, Kubrick decided to shoot Tom Cruise’s character’s nighttime escapade through New York City entirely in England at Pinewood Studios. To achieve this, a dedicated team measured actual New York streets, constructing realistic sets that captured the city’s essence. The result was a masterful recreation that preserved the film’s aesthetic integrity, as Cruise’s character traversed these streets, occasionally using a treadmill against projected footage of New York.
Interestingly, Kubrick’s commitment to filming in the UK created an unusual situation involving Cate Blanchett, who made a clandestine appearance in the film—her contribution remaining a secret for two decades. It was revealed that Blanchett overdubbed lines for British actress Abigail Good in a pivotal scene.
The film is perhaps best known for its notorious orgy sequence, which Kubrick painstakingly researched and developed, setting the stage for themes of elite secrecy and decadence. In the midst of this narrative, Cruise’s character, Dr. Bill Harford, stumbles into a grand gathering of masked elites. Here, he meets a masked woman who warns him, “I don’t know who you are or what you think you’re doing, but you obviously don’t belong here.” It turns out that the voice behind this character was none other than Blanchett.
Leon Vitali, a close collaborator of Kubrick, disclosed in a 2019 interview that after Kubrick’s death in 1999, he was tasked with finding the right voice to replace Good’s original lines. The choice to approach Blanchett came after Cruise and his then-wife Nicole Kidman suggested her for the role. Vitali recounted, “We wanted something warm and sensual that could blend into a ritualistic atmosphere.”
When Blanchett recorded these lines, she was already on an upward trajectory in her career, having gained acclaim for her performance in “Oscar and Lucinda” and earning her first Oscar nomination for “Elizabeth.” While it seemed a natural fit to bring in an actress of her caliber, the decision to use her American accent might have been a gamble since she is, in fact, Australian. However, neither Kubrick nor Vitali seemed to have fully considered this detail during production.
Good, on the other hand, expressed no disappointment over her lines being replaced, stating that she cherished the opportunity to work alongside legendary figures like Stanley and Cruise. She recalled that her time on set was enriching, and she appreciated Kubrick’s effort to include her opinion in the process.
In the end, Cate Blanchett’s surprising involvement in “Eyes Wide Shut” highlights the unique intricacies of Kubrick’s filmmaking process, where even the smallest details were meticulously crafted to perfection, and sometimes, the most unexpected collaborations emerged from creative necessity.