"Everything I've prayed for, worked for, clawed my way up for, I am suddenly able to be asked to use all of it," the Oscar winner told The New York Times.

Bates has been candid about how acting isn't always a breeze, previously admitting that she would "get my feelings really hurt" when she was starting out in the industry.

"Sometimes I'd get on a plane and fly home," she shared.

"I had a wonderful producer, God rest, him, Saul Zaentz. And I remember we were in London, and it was just a nightmare. British press... But I remember I got very upset," she added. "And I said, 'I'm going home, that's it. I'm not going to put myself through this anymore.' And I remember Saul coming up to me and saying, 'You gotta get tougher.'"