“Hey, what’s going on, everybody? From First We Feast, I’m Cate Blanchett and you’re watching Hot Ones.†Wait, no. That’s not how the most recent episode of Hot Ones started, though, if we’re being honest, it might as well have. Technically, the episode began with host Sean Evans introducing the show and his guest, Cate Blanchett, before Blanchett took control of the interview and started interviewing Evans instead. “Do you play an instrument?†the Tár actress asked Evans. “The spoons, anything?†The answer, sadly, was no. The questions did not stop there: “Has anyone ever thrown up?†(Not in the studio.) “Have you ever drunk a whole bottle of hot sauce?†(No, but he has eaten a Carolina Reaper.) “How old were you when you did that?†(Twenty-eight.) “When did you start doing this? When did you realize that this was your gift?†(When the Key and Peele episode blew up.)
You may be asking, Why? Why does this two-time-Oscar-winning actress want to know so much about the bald host of the hot-wing show? Well, luckily for us, Blanchett shows her hand later in the episode when Evans brings up Documentary Now!, which Blanchett has appeared in twice. Considering how Hot Ones could be parodied on Documentary Now!, Blanchett’s eyes lit up. “Make a documentary about yourself,†she pitches. “Then I’ll send it to Seth [Myers], and then I can play you!†Aha! Blanchett is doing her research on her next Emmy-worthy, radically physically transforming role: Sean Evans, host of Hot Ones. If anyone can pull off a clean-shaven scalp, it’s her.