Why classical conductor 'Tár' was the most terrifying role of Cate Blanchett's iconic career

Cate Blanchett has played her share of formidable characters, rulers who could bring mere mortals to their knees with a single icy stare: Queen Elizabeth I in "Elizabeth," Galadriel in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, the goddess Hela in "Thor: Ragnarok."

But none of that could compare with the surge of power — and terror — the actress felt the first time she stood in front of the Dresden Philharmonic orchestra with a conductor's baton on the set of her new film "Tár."

"Nothing will prepare you for the moment when you stand on the podium, which was terrifying, and give the downbeat and start making that sound with an orchestra of that size," says Blanchett, who plays Lydia Tár, a brilliant but deeply flawed classical conductor in writer-director Todd Field's psychological drama. "I