Kathy Bates Clarifies Recent Retirement Comments

Kathy Bates isnt moving on from Hollywood just yet. 

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly at Sundays Emmy Awards , Bates took time to clarify recent comments shed made in reference to her forthcoming role in the CBS reboot of Matlock that led many to believe she was retiring from acting . 

Though the Emmy and Oscar winner didnt deny that the role of Madeline Matty Matlock would be her final one, she said shed happily play it for years to come if the new series is successful. 

What I meant was, I had one foot out the door until I read the script for Matlock, she explained. And then I read Matlock and I said, Ooooooookay, close the door. Were gonna do some more. I want it to run for years. Its that great.

Bates shared similar sentiments in a separate interview with Deadline . 

I was thinking about maybe going into semi-retirement until I got Jennie Urmans script for Matlock, she said. I read it and said, Oh, yeah, baby, I gotta do this. Its amazing. Its not just an episodic; theres this over-arching mystery that goes through the series. Big twist at the end of the pilot.

When pressed about an actual timeline for her retirement, Bates simply stated: Never. 

Rumors that Bates was planning to call it quits after Matlock began to swirl following a New York Times profile published earlier this month in which she referred to the series as her last dance. 

Everything Ive prayed for, worked for, clawed my way up for, I am suddenly able to be asked to use all of it, she told the publication. And its exhausting.

A representative for Bates, however, offered a slightly different take when asked by Entertainment Weekly  last week about the Misery actors comments.  

Personally I dont think that is going to be the case, the rep said. She wants Matlock to go on for many, many years.

The new Matlock, which debuts Sept. 22 , is a gender-flipped reboot of the long-running legal drama starring Andy Griffith that ran from 1986 to 1995. 

As the title character, Bates finds herself grappling with ageism and adversity when she rejoins the workforce as a senior citizen. Along the way, she finds ways to use her profession as a conduit for personal grief.