The actress has sons Dashiell, 11, Roman, eight, and Ignatius, four, with husband Andrew Upton, and let them come backstage with her when she was filming 'The Hobbit' so they could pass down the secrets of her trade to them.

She told TV show 'Lorraine': "It's like being a circus family, in the way doctors and lawyers don't hide their children from what they do. It's a pretty exciting place backstage and I filmed for eight days on 'The Hobbit' and it was so exciting for them because they saw the 3D cameras, they watched all the stunt guys and could see how the film was put together, so it was good."

Cate, 43, added she has taken a step back from acting in recent years so she can raise her sons.
She added: "I haven't made a film for quite a long time, because I've been doing theatre, but it gets to the point where they are not so portable, so you make the choice to do less. It's been great to be in Australia, but they come backstage."

She also gave her advice for young any aspiring stars who want to make it in acting, advising them not to give up on their dreams and to enjoy the journey of their career.

She said: "Just start at the beginning and don't think it's going to head anywhere else. I remember my agent told me - I was offered a job understudying someone - and she said, 'You don't need to be an understudy.' And I said, 'Yes I do, I need to work.' It's just about being in there, I think people are encouraged to think about the end result rather than the journey and the journey has been incredible."