An Australian soap opera star who also found success in American after back-to-back box office hits is raising eyebrows after a string of passive-aggressive tweets about two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett.
Guy Pearce, who starred in "Memento" and "LA Confidential" in the late '90s, penned his first anti-Cate message when he tweeted his support for Ana De Armas for a Critics Choice Award earlier this month. After Cate won that evening, Guy called it a "fascinating choice." He then retweeted a post from a Cate fan account that included images of the "Tár" star. He replied, "Ah no thanks."
Most of the Cate tweets have been deleted.
After his string of Cate-centric messages, a fan wondered, "Why does Guy Pearce have beef with Cate Blanchett?" The actor said no such thing exists.
"Fear not. No beef at all. I was merely being sarcastic. I adore Miss CB. She's incredible…..One of our best!," he replied.
Still, Guy might have some underlying bitterness to Cate. In fact, DailyMail.com surmises that Guy — who had a role in "Iron Man 3" and "Mare of Easttown" — has had a 15-year gripe with the celebrated actress, which stems from an apparent pay dispute in 2009. The report says Cate was serving as co-artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company in Australia when she booked a run of shows for "Pretty Boy," which was set to star Guy in the lead role. However, Guy ruled himself out citing financial compensation.
"I'd certainly do it if I didn't have any other projects coming forward, but it's way too early to tell. If I'm not at home I might as well be doing something like a movie that pays a decent amount. I mean it would be hard to say: 'Sorry, I don't want to do your movie because I want to work for nothing in Sydney for another three months,'" he told The Age at the time. "Ms. Blanchett's fantastic, absolutely, but I've got to make a living. Unless she wants to pay me what she earns. If she does it'll be the most the STC ever paid an actor, I guarantee."