Cate Blanchett's role in Disclaimer turned out to be more than just an epic portrayal of a celebrated documentarian watching her life spiral out of control: she also learned to debone a fish and tame cats.
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| Cate Blanchett as Catherine Ravenscroft in 'Disclaimer'. AppleTV+ |
In Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple TV+ thriller, the animal companions of Blanchett’s and Sacha Baron Cohen’s characters hold significant meaning in the show’s layered symbolism. The cast — which includes Blanchett, Baron Cohen, Kevin Kline, Louis Partridge, Leila George, and HoYeon Jung — spoke to the audience after a screening of the first three episodes at the BFI London Film Festival on Thursday.
The seven-part series revolves around Catherine Ravenscroft (Blanchett), an acclaimed documentarian, and her wealthy husband, Robert (Baron Cohen). Their lives are upended when a book titled The Perfect Stranger is sent to Catherine, revealing a long-buried secret that she had hoped would remain hidden.
At the same time, the couple is distracted by their wayward son, Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee). The book’s author, a grieving teacher (Kline), seeks revenge following the death of his son Jonathon (Partridge), relishing the chaos he has unleashed in Catherine's life.
In addition to the human performances, the show’s non-human characters also make an impression — particularly the Ravenscrofts' mischievous cat, who frequently leaps in and out of frame at their elegant London home. In one pivotal scene, as Blanchett’s character debones a sole, she struggles to control the troublesome cat, who seems determined to make her task more difficult.
Though the cat’s presence may appear insignificant, Cuarón was deliberate in its inclusion, and Blanchett quickly came to grasp its importance in the narrative. She recalled, “[I thought], why is the cat here? And then I realized.” She went on to explain that in the scene where she had to debone a fish, she had been given lessons on how to do it properly.
“My family ate a lot of fish during this shoot,” she quipped. But just when she thought she had mastered the deboning, Cuarón threw a curveball. “After a few takes, [Cuarón] said, ‘Put the cat in.’”
Blanchett elaborated on the metaphor behind the unpredictable cat, noting how it reflected the uncontrollable aspects of life. “By introducing an animal,” she said to Cuarón, “you can’t control it. There’s something wicked in your desire... We think we need to control all of our lives, but in reality, we’re so monumentally out of control. And right now, everyone in the world is so out of control. Then you add an animal to these very controlled environments, and you have organized chaos all the time.”
She added that this was a subtle yet powerful way of depicting the characters’ constant struggle with chaos.
Cuarón playfully commented on Blanchett’s interaction with the cat, saying, “It was incredible to see Cate suffer. Taking the cat away, cooking, but never losing her character's focus in the scene. For me, it was a pleasure to watch.”
He continued, joking that Blanchett had “broken” the cat’s training. “The cat ended up doing whatever Cate wanted. The animal trainer was very upset, saying, ‘It took me three years to teach this cat to move from A to B, and now the cat does whatever it wants!’” Blanchett clarified that she is a devoted animal lover at home, owning two cats, four dogs, and six chickens.
Both Blanchett and Cuarón expressed admiration for one another, with Cuarón highlighting Blanchett’s role as an executive producer. “We often see many credits that are cosmetic, but Cate was not. She was involved in every single casting decision, every single moment,” he said.
The cast members, too, were full of praise for Cuarón, known for his work on Roma and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Louis Partridge, who plays Jonathon, shared, “Often you feel like you have to take a leap of faith when you’re working with people. But Alfonso’s meticulous approach, his attention to detail, gave us all a sense of confidence. It’s a luxury you don’t get on every job.”
That word — “meticulous” — was echoed by the rest of the cast when referring to Cuarón’s creative process. “You’ll see by the end of the show,” Blanchett added, “that Alfonso is absolutely meticulous and had a very clear vision for how everything should unfold.”
