“This is the third act”: The role that “resurrected” Kathy Bates’ career
If you saw the film Misery as a youngster, then you probably have a deep fear of Kathy Bates.
Her performance as the sadistic Annie Wilkes is one of the greatest in horror movie history and one of the very few from the genre that was rewarded with an Oscar. This was one of the many great showings she had in the 1990s, which really was a golden age for the talented actor.
Younger fans might be more aware of Bates’ work from American Horror Story, the celebrated star joined the long-running anthology series for its third season, Coven. For her performance as Delphine LaLaurie, a former slave owner who is cursed with immortality, she won an Emmy for ‘Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie’.
The role of LaLaurie came at a pivotal time in Bates’ career, as she explained to Vanity Fair, that she owes a lot to series creator Ryan Murphy, who gave her the chance to prove that she had what it took to perform at the very highest level.
“Ryan Murphy has resurrected my career,” she said, “This is the third act, and I never dreamed any of this stuff would happen. Before American Horror Story, I was doing [NBC’s Harry’s Law], and I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The show got cancelled, and our audience was dismissed because they were too old. So the message I was getting was, ‘Get the fuck out of here!’”
Harry’s Law was a legal comedy-drama that premiered in 2011, starring Bates as the titular character, a former high-flying attorney rebuilding her life as an honest criminal defence lawyer, but despite strong audience numbers and a good response from critics, with Bates being nominated for an Emmy for her performance, it was cancelled after just two season, the news breaking just a few months before she revealed that she had undergone a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer,
There followed a fan campaign to revive the show, but the decision to cancel it stood firm.
Bates has been incredibly outspoken about the treatment of older women in Hollywood, having never fit the conventional beauty standards that have dominated the industry, thereby losing out on countless opportunities, despite her immense ability; acting is a brutal business, especially for women, and especially for women of a certain age.
Thankfully, her talents did not go unappreciated as she got older, and after the success of her first American Horror Story role, she was brought back for four more seasons of the show, including reprising her role as LaLaurie in Apocalypse, set to return to the series once again in the upcoming 13th season. She’s been able to translate that success into other shows, too, where in 2025, she was nominated for her 15th career Emmy for her performance in Matlock, making her the oldest nominee in the history of her category.
“Because of Ryan, my career opened,” she reiterated, “He brought me back to life during a difficult period in my life”.
