Cate Blanchett had first accordion lesson half an hour before shooting Tár scene

Cate Blanchett had her very first accordion lesson shortly before shooting a scene for Tár.

In Todd Field's psychological drama, the Australian actress plays fictional composer/conductor Lydia Tár.

Reflecting on the process of making the film during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday night, Cate recalled how the director kept her on her toes when it came to learning musical instruments.

"Todd threw a lot of things at me. I'd always know it was bad news when he'd come up to me and say, 'Here's the thing,'" she laughed. "And one day, towards the end of the day, he came up and said, 'The accordion teacher is here.' (I said), 'Oh OK?' and he said, 'Yeah, you've been practising right?' I said, 'No, I've never held an accordion.' He said, 'You'll be fine, just go and spend half an hour with her.' And then, he asked me to come out and play the accordion."

While Cate agreed to film the scene, she was pretty annoyed with Todd.

"The scene was a little bit of a (rebuff... I thought), 'You play the accordion, Todd!'" the 53-year-old sighed, jokingly flipping the bird.

Tár has been nominated for six prizes at the 2023 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Cate. The winners will be announced at the ceremony on 12 March.