Sydney casting director who 'discovered' Cate Blanchett charged with mid-range drink driving

An Australian casting director who claims to have helped launch the career of Cate Blanchett is facing a mid-range drink driving charge.

Sydney-based Toni Higginbotham, who cast Blanchett opposite Ernie Dingo in the 1994 ABC series Heartland, has been charged with driving with a mid-range prescribed concentration of alcohol.

The charge comes after Higginbotham allegedly returned a reading of 0.090 in Sydney's eastern suburbs last month.

According to police, Higginbotham was driving along New South Head Road at Bellevue Hill when she was stopped by them at about 3:25pm on Saturday, August 1.

Police have alleged there was a mid-range prescribed concentration of alcohol present in Higginbotham's breath, with the matter being listed as her first offence.

Higginbotham was absent from Waverley Court this week when the matter was mentioned, and was represented by her lawyer.

The case has been adjourned until October 6, when Higginbotham is expected to enter a plea. 

Higginbotham has over three decades of industry experience, most recently working on the 2026 movie Cruel Hands, starring Neighbours veteran Mavournee Hazel.

In April last year, it was reported that Blanchett intends to retire from acting after more than three decades in the industry.

The Oscar-winning actress 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.'

She insisted she had 'a lot of things I want to do with my life'.

The Australian actress, who recently starred in an adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull at the Barbican, London, 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 had often toyed with the idea of walking away from her acting work.