Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett recently opened up about a delightfully unexpected moment from her family life, one that involved a Lord of the Rings action figure, a toddler’s logic, and a very earnest question about un*erw**r.
Blanchett, who famously portrayed the elf Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, appeared on the Las Culturistas podcast and recounted how she gave her young son a Galadriel doll. Instead of being impressed by the likeness, her son was “really upset” with one very specific detail: the toy didn’t have und*rw**r. “He said, ‘Elves don’t wear und*rw**r?’” Blanchett shared, mimicking her child’s baffled tone.
The story struck an amusing chord with podcast hosts and listeners alike. Blanchett explained that the doll’s design, like many fantasy figures, didn’t include undergarments, and that her son took this omission quite seriously. While most adults might shrug at such a detail, in the imaginative eyes of a child, it raised an urgent question of authenticity.
Blanchett also joked that even the hobbits, characters from the Lord of the Rings universe known for their famously hairy feet, were disappointed with the lack of detail in the merchandise. “They didn’t feel the toys were going to be made properly,” she quipped, before clarifying that she herself did wear und*rw**r in her Galadriel costume during filming.
The actress went on to share her own imaginative take on Middle-earth attire. Had she been consulted on the toy design, she joked, she would have insisted that elves wear knitted und*rw**r, humorously noting that in Tolkien’s world, “you don’t need to wash your und*rw**r, but you need to wear it.”
Blanchett’s children, including her eldest, Dashiell, now an adult, were toddlers when the Lord of the Rings films were first released, so hearing about their early reactions to merchandise offers a rare glimpse into how families interact with beloved fantasy franchises.
It’s a charming reminder that even one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed actors has household moments that are utterly ordinary and relatable, like a kid being perplexed by an elf’s wardrobe choices. In a story filled with epic landscapes and mythic battles, it’s perhaps fitting that the smallest detail ‘und*rw**r’, became the most memorable for one young fan.
