Oscar-winner Kathy Bates plans to retire from acting when her upcoming reboot of “Matlock” ends.
“This is my last dance,” she told the New York Times, referencing the ESPN documentary “The Last Dance” that followed the 1998 Chicago Bulls in their quest for a sixth NBA title.
She said she had been close to hanging it up after a bad experience on a recent movie shoot, but was drawn to the legal procedural that premieres Sept. 22 on CBS.
“Everything I’ve prayed for, worked for, clawed my way up for, I am suddenly able to be asked to use all of it,” she said. “And it’s exhausting.”
However, she might not want to start planning her retirement party just yet.
The original iteration of “Matlock” starred Andy Griffith as chipper defense attorney Ben Matlock. It ran for 181 episodes between 1986 and 1995.
In the upcoming drama series, Bates plays the unassuming Madeline “Matty” Matlock, a lawyer who uses ageism and misogyny against her courtroom opponents in order “to right wrongs.”
Bates, 76, won the Academy Award for Best Actress for “Misery” in 1991 for her turn as Annie Wilkes, a former nurse who kidnaps her favorite writer. She’s also lauded for “Fried Green Tomatoes,” Titanic,” “About Schmidt,” The Office” and more.
