Cate Blanchett only expected to be in Hollywood for "five years" when she first started out.

The 55-year-old actress has actually been on screen for nearly three decades but insisted that when she started, women had a "shelf life", although she now thinks that female producers make for "more exciting" output.

She told Business Insider: "The shelf life of actresses when I first came on the scene was about five years.

"I think that female producers have more agency.

"There's more females in the writing room, and the more diverse the industry is at base level, when things are developed, the more exciting it is for audiences.

The 'Black Bag' star also believes that issues of "ageism and sexism" exist across the board in whatever industry, it's just that it comes across more in hers because of how "public-facing" it all is.

"I think there's ageism and sexism in every industry. I just think that we're a very public-facing industry."

Earlier this year, the Academy Award-winning star admitted her career on screen came as a surprise to her in the first place as she initially assumed she would end up on stage.

Speaking at the Rotterdam Film Festival, she said: "I was resigned, happily, to a career in theatre. I didn't think I was that girl. There was a sense women had a certain 'shelf life' in the film industry and a certain type of women got to parade on the screen and others didn't.

And, she urged people not to worry about always being original as she insisted that paying "homage" to someone who has gon before can be a way of "connecting through recognition".

She said: "We are told you have to find your own voice. I would say: Steal from anyone. It's an homage and a way of connecting through recognition. You are in dialogue with that filmmaker, actor or cinematographer. And that reference, filtered through your own experience, will be unrecognisable. This obsession with being 'original' or breaking new ground can often be a trap."