Cate Blanchett recalls 'brutal' treatment from a director

Cate Blanchett was treated "brutally" by a director earlier in her career.

The 53-year-old actress stars in the new movie 'Tar' as composer Lydia Tar and recalled how she could relate to a scene where her character ridicules a student, although she claims that the harsh words ultimately proved beneficial for her.

Cate told The Times newspaper: "Oh, early on in my career I would sometimes be treated brutally by a director in the rehearsal room.

"Yet I ended up making a massive breakthrough because of it. To be frank, I wouldn't be here now if that sort of thing hadn't happened. It made me think, 'I'm bigger than this, I'm stronger than this,' and I kept going - but perhaps I was able to do that because of the colour of my skin, or where I was in my career. The important thing is to be aware and respectful of these things when nurturing young talent."

Cate has been tipped for an Oscar for her performance in the movie which tells the story of how Tar's career falls apart as allegations mount about her bullying behaviour and she likes that the flick is "hard to pin down".

The 'Nightmare Alley' actress said: "It's not really a film about conducting. It's not even a film about the classical music world. In fact it's very hard to pin the movie down, which is its strength. It's a little bit like a Rorschach test: different people will read very different things into it. I really want people to see it and tell me what they think."

Cate is unsure if she wants to do more musical projects after bringing a conductor to life on screen.

She said: "Oh I don't know.

"I have so many friends who are renaissance people. They can paint, sing, dance, act. I can only do one thing! I've been ploughing that furrow like crazy because it's the only furrow I've got."