Kathy Bates considered retiring from acting before ‘Matlock’ success

Kathy Bates has revealed that she considered retiring before the success of Matlock.

The Oscar-winning star is currently starring in the reboot of the legal series, which debuted on CBS last year.

Speaking to Variety alongside Billy Bob Thornton, Bates explained that she had “one foot out the door” before the script landed on her desk.

“I feel like this part was written with me in mind,” she said.

“When I first read the script, I thought, this is just episodic, and I’m not interested in doing that. And then I finally got to the end, and there’s this twist. I said, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m in. I’m in.’ Because I really had one foot out the door.”

Bates elaborated: “I just felt that I was getting small roles in films that I loved that people were not seeing. I just began to ask myself, ‘Is this what I want to keep doing? Do I want to sell the house and maybe move to France and call it a day?’ And then I got this script. It just fit me like a glove.”

Bates revealed last year that Matlock would be her final role, calling it her “last dance”.

“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 told the New York Times. “And it’s exhausting.”

The star added that acting “was the only thing I’ve had, ever,” adding: “It becomes my life. Sometimes I get jealous of having this talent. Because I can’t hold it back, and I just want my life.”

Meanwhile, earlier this year Bates was seen jokingly ripping up her planned Golden Globes speech after losing the Female Actor in a Television Series — Drama category to Shōgun’s Anna Sawai.

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