Our favorite Cate Blanchett performances

Blanchett’s lead role as Queen Elizabeth I was a real coming-out party for the young actress. While the movie wasn’t a huge commercial success, the awards circuit absolutely loved it, and Blanchett specifically. She won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe and also got her first Oscar nomination.

After the success of “Elizabeth,” there was still a bit of a proving process that Blanchett had to go through in the United States. Sure, she could do a stuffy British period piece, but what else could she do? Eventually, we’d find out that the answer was basically anything. Here she is in a supporting role as a wife, which isn’t always the richest kind of roles. Also, she has a crazy ‘90s hairdo.

For a movie that is merely pretty good, there is a murderer’s row of a cast in “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” This is a film that gives two small, but memorable, supporting roles to Philip Seymour Hoffman and Blanchett. They are both stunningly good, even though Blanchett doesn’t have a ton to do. She’s just such an engaging screen presence.

Billy Bob Thornton must have liked what he saw in Blanchett when they made “Pushing Tin” together, because she was given the starring role in this film written by Thornton based on his own mother. “The Gift” isn’t a great movie, but it was a chance for Blanchett to star in a major American motion picture. She showed she was able to make the most out of even middling material.

Speaking of making the most out of middling material, there's “Bandits!” Once again, Blanchett is working with Billy Bob Thornton, but this time Bruce Willis is also along for the ride. It’s a bit sweaty as a movie, but it really picks up the pace once Blanchett shows up in the middle of it. “Bandits” is worth watching once, if only to see her.

We’re lumping all the "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" movies together. Blanchett played Galadriel, an elf, in all of them. It’s an important but not showy role, mostly involving Blanchett glowing and looking regal. If anybody deserves to be cast as the greatest of the elven women, it’s her.

Look, Blanchett can’t live up to the best segment of this Jim Jarmusch movie. That one has Bill Murray hanging out with the RZA and the GZA from Wu-Tang Clan. Blanchett pulls a Patty Duke, playing both herself and her identical cousin, who is not famous. It’s fun to watch the Aussie actress get to both poke fun at her image and play a fake cousin in this occasionally silly and absurd comedy.

Here’s another Blanchett and Murray movie, but this time they actually get to act together. Wes Anderson is one of our greatest living filmmakers, and this is arguably his best film. Blanchett fits into his specific rhythms perfectly, bringing a vibrant light to her role as a quasi-love interest who is also a reporter dealing with an unexpected pregnancy.

Martin Scorsese couldn’t get an Oscar for his epic about Howard Hughes, but Blanchett could — and did. And oh, she earned it. Blanchett won Best Supporting Actor for her turn as Katharine Hepburn. Yes, Blanchett won an Academy Award for playing a multiple-time Oscar winner. She nailed her Hepburn impression but didn’t forget to actually act and emote as well.

Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench acting across from one another? And neither one is playing British royalty? Believe it! Instead, this is a claustrophobic thriller that asks both actresses to be unlikable. They both got Oscar nominations, because of course they did. It’s Blanchett and Dench!

Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In 2007, Blanchett stepped into the role of Elizabeth I once again. On top of that, the movie was directed by Shekhar Kapur, who also directed “Elizabeth” back in 1998. Of course by this time Blanchett was a star, and she also got herself another Oscar nomination. Nobody plays Elizabeth I better than an Australian woman, apparently.

Here’s how good of an actress Blanchett is: She played Bob Dylan. Well, sort of. “I’m Not There” is a segmented film in which several different actors play characters “inspired” by Dylan. Blanchett’s is one of the more direct analogs, and she is truly great in the role, disappearing into the character of Jude Quinn. Once again she was nominated for an Oscar. This may truly be her best performance.

Look, this is clearly the least popular of the Indiana Jones films. It has a lot of issues, even before Indy protects himself from a nuclear blast with a fridge. However, Blanchett seems to be having a ton of fun playing a Soviet agent in the ‘50s. That makes this an enjoyable Blanchett performance, even if the movie leaves something to be desired.

David Fincher’s film is overlong, and its makeup and costuming are more interesting than the story. That being said, Blanchett can really sink her teeth into any role that asks her to emote and be a bit melodramatic. She helps make the movie less of a slog, even at 166 minutes. Well, that’s less than a Marvel movie at this point.

Watch this movie just for Blanchett’s performance as the villain. Watch how she carries herself in character. She gets to do action stuff. Also, just listen to the voice she uses. It’s mesmerizing. It’s partially not great, but in a way that is sort of amazing and perfect if that makes any sense. Just check it out.

It’s more palatable these days to watch Woody Allen movies that he doesn’t actually appear in. Even better is having Blanchett as the main character. She’s absolutely riveting in "Blue Jasmine" as a woman slowly breaking down, or maybe not so slowly. Blanchett finally won an Oscar for Best Actress for this film. She definitely earned it.

Unfortunately, we don’t get to see Blanchett in the two “How To Train Your Dragon” movies she’s in. It’s just voice work. Of course, an actress as talented as Blanchett can still deliver a fine performance with just her voice. She is dropped into a pivotal role as the main character’s long-lost mother, and she showed that voice-over work is right up her alley, just like all acting.

Blanchett and Todd Haynes, director of “I’m Not There,” reunited for the slightly more traditional “Carol." — well, if you can consider a ‘50s-style melodrama about two female lovers “traditional.” Blanchett plays the titular Carol, and she is once again tremendous and occasionally heartbreaking. She got another Oscar nomination, giving her seven in her career.

The rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has its positives and negatives, but one of the positives is getting to see a two-time Oscar winner step into roles we never could have imagined a decade ago. “Thor: Ragnarok” is a ton of fun and the most comedic of all the Marvel movies. And yet it still has one of the better villains in the MCU as well, because Blanchett is cast in that role. She plays Hela, she wears a crazy headdress and she rules.

“Ocean’s 8” is flawed — more “Ocean’s 12” than “Ocean’s 11.” That being said, it’s not without its charms. Anne Hathaway seems to be having fun, but both Sandra Bullock and Blanchett also have big roles. They sort of are the two leaders of the crew ostensibly. It’s more of a Bullock style of movie than a Blanchett one, which is not a knock, but Blanchett still seems game and that’s enough to enjoy her performance.

Guillermo del Toro was the perfect guy to direct another rendition of "Nightmare Alley." Bradley Cooper stars as a wayward guy on the run who takes up with a carnival, where he learns to scam people with a fake psychic act. Blanchett plays a psychologist who takes an interest in him, which, in a noir movie, unsurprisingly doesn't go great for Cooper.