Andrew Upton has taken to calling himself "the hand", so frequently does he find himself not quite perfectly cropped out of red carpet photographs of him with his wife, Cate Blanchett. After nearly 11 years of marriage to the Oscar-winning film star variously referred to as the finest actress of her generation and one of the most beautiful women in the world, the 42-year-old playwright has become expert in taking a back seat. "They just look and think, 'he's not interesting, cut him out.' You can almost see the scissors," he roars with laughter.