Kathy Bates bares all in Jack Nicholson film
Oscar-winner Kathy Bates admits to downing a “few cocktails” before stripping for a nude scene in her new film About Schmidt, which debuts in the United Kingdom tomorrow.
In a botched effort to attract co-star and famed ladies’ man Jack Nicholson, the 54-year-old, who plays free-spirited divorcee Roberta Hertzel, leaps nude into a hot tub with him.
Bates, who is the first to confess that she does not have the typical Hollywood physique, consented to strip since the sequence matched nicely with Hertzel’s aged hippie persona.
However, she overruled director Alexander Payne’s initial ideas for a full frontal nudity sequence, persuading him to film her naked body from the side instead.
Before she discarded her clothing for About Schmidt, Bates, who earned an Oscar for her performance as an obsessed fan in the thriller Misery, said there was a lot of talk.
“There were kind of negotiations about what I will show, what I won’t show, you know all this stuff back and forth,” she explained.
“And I think we got to a place where I felt comfortable and Payne got what he wanted.
“And I had a couple of cocktails before I did it, you know, just to relax and then I jumped in the pool.”
“Alexander wanted full frontal nudity and I wasn’t comfortable with that,” she explained.
For the second time, Kathy Bates is battling cancer.
The actress, 64, claims she was diagnosed with breast cancer a few weeks ago and had a double mastectomy. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer nine years ago and survived.
Following her latest operation, Bates, 64, the Oscar-winning star of the 1990 thriller “Misery,” told People magazine that physicians had given her a good prognosis.
“After much consideration, I underwent a double mastectomy,” Bates said in a statement to the celebrity magazine website.
“Luckily, I don’t have to undergo radiation or chemo. My family call me Kat because I always land on my feet and thankfully this is no exception.”
Bates seemed to have a bright outlook.
“My doctors have assured me I’m going to be around for a long time,” she stated. “I’m looking forward to getting back to work doing what I love to do.”
Bates first revealed her struggle with ovarian cancer in 2009, claiming that she decided to keep it hidden at the time for personal reasons. She did, however, express respect for celebrities who publicly discuss cancer and continue to make public appearances after their hair had gone out as a result of treatment.
Bates is set to attend the Primetime Emmy Awards on September 23, for which she is up for two awards. For her role as Charlie Harper’s ghost on Two and a Half Men, Bates is nominated for lead actress in a drama and outstanding guest actress in a comedy.
Bates, who earned an Academy Award for best actress for her role in the 1990 film “Misery,” is also set to play alongside James Earl Jones in the next film “Starbright.”
She won awards for her parts in “About Schmidt” and “Primary Colors.”
Christina Applegate, Cynthia Nixon, Sheryl Crow, Edie Falco, Melissa Etheridge, and Kylie Minogue are all breast cancer survivors.