Cate Blanchett to Receive Freedom of the City of London Honor

Cate Blanchett will receive the Freedom of the City of London, an ancient tradition used to honor an individual’s contribution to the community.

The Aussie actress, as well as Northern Ireland’s Adrian Dunbar, will receive the Freedom of the City for their work in the arts.

Blanchett is famed for her Oscar-winning roles in The Aviator and Blue Jasmine, as well as high-profile performances in The Lord of the Rings franchise and more recently, Black Bag. She is an activist on issues such as climate change and serves as an UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, advocating for refugees and displaced people.

Dunbar will be best known to audiences for his role in the hit U.K. police procedural Line of Duty. Among his recent credits is ITV’s Ridley and Inside No. 9.

Both actors have also performed on the stage — at the iconic London venue the Barbican, Blanchett appeared in The Seagull from February to April this year, and Kiss Me, Kate with Dunbar is running from June to September this summer.

The Freedom of the City of London is one of the city’s oldest traditions and is believed to have been going since 1237.

Chair of the CLC’s Freedom applications committee, Alderman Russell, said Freedom is “offered as a way of paying tribute to their outstanding contribution to London or public life, or to celebrate a very significant achievement.”