Cate Blanchett showed the London media she wasn't prepared to be messed with during a red carpet appearance at the Olivier Awards on Sunday.

The 56-year-old gave one noisy reporter the finger after the male photographer would not stop yelling at the Australian-born Oscar winner for a photo op.

At first, Cate kept her cool, telling him with a smile to 'stop' asking for a picture at his convenience.

But after he insisted, the actress stuck up the middle finger of her left hand in his direction - while keeping her face turned away.

The cheeky gesture was met with a chorus of raucous laughter from the media scrum, while the Lord of the Rings star reacted with a broad grin.

A video of Cate's unexpected red carpet moment was later posted on the Movie TV News siteand met with enthusiastic approval from fans.

Cate Blanchett showed the London media she wasn't prepared to be messed with during a red carpet appearance at the Olivier Awards on Sunday

The 56-year-old gave one noisy reporter the finger after the male photographer would not stop yelling at the Australian-born Oscar winner for a photo op

'God, that was the smoothest, classiest flip I’ve seen in a minute,' gushed one person, while another added, 'I love her for this.'

'Cate \& Kate Winslet are very similar in this regard,' commented another. 'Don't give them any bloody nonsense, they won't put up with it!!'

Cate led the star arrivals alongside Elizabeth Hurley, Rachel Zegler, and Rosamund Pike at the Royal Albert Hall for the A-list theatre awards event.

Sporting a flattering bob, the blonde star turned heads in an elegant black gown from French label Lanvin.

Sadly for Cate, it was Rosamund, 47, who took home the Best Actress award on the night.

Cate had won plaudits for her recent role on the London stage in the theatre classic The Seagull.

The appearance came after it was reported, last April, that the acclaimed star was ready to retire.

Cate hesitated about her job title during an interview with Radio Times and explained: 'It's because I'm giving up [acting]. My family roll their eyes every time I say it, but I mean it. I am serious.'

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The cheeky gesture was met with a chorus of raucous laughter from the media scrum, while the Lord of the Rings star reacted with a broad grin

She insisted she had 'a lot of things I want to do with my life', but did not give a timeframe on her departure from the entertainment industry.

But it is not the first time that she has threatened to quit her career despite international acclaim.

She told Vanity Fair in 2023 that she has often toyed with the idea of walking away from her acting work.

She said: 'It's not occasional — it's continual. On a daily or weekly basis, for sure.

'It's a love affair, isn't it? So you do fall in and out of love with it, and you have to be seduced back into it.'

Cate has racked up thousands of rave reviews over the last 30 years after working tirelessly across dozens of projects in theatre, film and TV.

A regular on the global awards circuit, she has received major prizes from all over the world, including two Oscars, three BAFTAs, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, an Order of Australia, and, in France, a Chevalier, for her contribution to the arts.

Born in Melbourne, Cate started her movie career in Australia but quickly made an international breakthrough in 1998 with her first film, the historical drama Elizabeth.

By the early 2000s, global audiences knew her from the blockbuster Lord of the Rings series. She later appeared in the Hobbit trilogy.