Credit: Raph PH

Cate Blanchett Glastonbury 2023: Photos of Hollywood actor on stage with Sparks

Fri 23 June 2023 22:29, UK

As Sparks took to the Glastonbury Festival stage for the first time, they brought a special guest with them to the party: actor Cate Blanchett. Although Sparks had played many gigantic shows this year, this isn’t the first time they have worked with Blanchett.

The band first got to know Blanchett when accepting their award for their work in the comedic drama Annette. The actor was receiving a lifetime achievement award at the same event and got to know the Mael Brothers behind the band.

From there, the band worked with Blanchett on the video for the song ‘The Girl is Crying In Her Latte’ from the album of the same name this year. This is the same type of choreography Blanchett is seeing performing onstage at Glastonbury.

When working with Blanchett, Russell Mael talked about her emotional reaction to hearing the song for the first time, telling Variety, “When she first heard it, she said, ‘I’m laughing and I’m crying at the same time,’ and I thought that was a really apt comment about this song”.

While her dancing blends well with the Mael brothers’ music in the background, Blanchett had no background by the band beforehand. According to Russell, what is shown in the video is what she did on the spot.

Keyboardist Ron Mael was also impressed by her performance, saying, “When she first heard it, she said, ‘I’m laughing and I’m crying at the same time,’ and I thought that was a really apt comment about this song”.

Blanchett also had fond memories of the shoot, recalling, “I love the way they think. I love their sense of humor, and how they take the work seriously, but not themselves. You know, ‘the girl is crying in her latte’ — it’s so deep and shallow, simultaneously”.