Ellen Burstyn

Burstyn debuted on Broadway in 1957 and joined Lee Strasberg's The Actors Studio in New York City in 1967. Starting in the late 1950s, and throughout the 1960s, Burstyn frequently played guest roles on a number of primetime television shows, including Dr. Kildare, 77 Sunset Strip, Ben Casey, Perry Mason, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, The Big Valley, The Virginian, Laramie and The Time Tunnel. Burstyn was credited as Ellen McRae until 1967, when she and her then-husband Neil Nephew both changed their surname to Burstyn, and she began to be credited as Ellen Burstyn.[12] In 1970, she appeared uncredited and fully frontally nude in the Joseph Strick adaptation of Henry Miller's controversial novel Tropic of Cancer.[13] In 1975, she won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her performance in the comedy Same Time, Next Year,[14] a role in which she would reprise in a film adaptation in 1978.

After a number of small film roles, Burstyn gained recognition after starring in the 1971's The Last Picture Show, a coming of age story, directed by Peter Bogdanovich and adapted from a semi-autobiographical 1966 novel by Larry McMurtry. The film earned critical acclaim for its nostalgia and visual style that is reminiscent of 1951, the year in which the plot takes place.[15] The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Burstyn and her co-star Cloris Leachman. Leachman won the award.[8] In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[16] She next appeared in the drama The King of Marvin Gardens in 1972, with Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, and Scatman Crothers. A story about a daydreamer who convinces his brother to help fund a get-rich-quick scheme, the film was well received by critics.[17]

Burstyn and Blair in The Exorcist (1973)

In 1972, Burstyn was keen on playing the lead role as Chris MacNeil in the supernatural horror, The Exorcist (1973). The film studio were initially reluctant to cast her, but when no other actors were put forward, Burstyn was chosen for the part. Her co-stars were Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, Jason Miller and Linda Blair. The Exorcist had a production budget of $12 million and its principal photography was held in various parts of New York City. Filming proved to be challenging for the entire cast; it took "six day weeks, twelve hour days for nine months" to film and director William Friedkin used a prop gun to get genuine reactions from the cast.[8][18] Burstyn also injured her coccyx, which led to permanent injury to her spine.[19] Film critic Roger Ebert praised Burstyn for her ability to capture MacNeil's "frustration" when her daughter is possessed by an evil spirit.[20] Against expectations, The Exorcist was a huge commercial success at the theaters. Adjusted for inflation, the film is the ninth highest-grossing film of all time in the U.S. and Canada and the top-grossing R-rated film of all time. The film won two Academy Awards, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound Mixing, and gained Burstyn a Best Actress nomination.[21][22]

Burstyn followed up with a small role in the comedy-drama, Harry and Tonto in 1974. Her next major role was in Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) where she played a widowed woman, raising a son and yearning to start a new life for herself as a singer. She was drawn to the script because of the character's resemblance to her own life.[23] Burstyn was also inspired by the works of Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, who found that women were searching to "redefine their roles in society".[23] Burstyn was offered to direct but turned it down to concentrate on her performance, but selected then-newcomer Scorsese as director and recalled the collaboration as "one of the best experiences I've ever had".[8][23][24] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "Burstyn never misses the eccentric beat that distinguishes it—that makes Alice such a hugely appealing character who is both banal and very rare".[25] The film earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.[26] In 1975, she became a graduate of the first group of participants in the American Film Institute Directing Workshop for Women. In 1977, she served as a member of the jury at the 27th Berlin International Film Festival.[27]

Burstyn had supporting roles in Providence (1977) and A Dream of Passion (1978). Although these were independent dramas and not widely seen, the latter was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film.[28] Also in 1978, Burstyn starred in Same Time, Next Year opposite Alan Alda, a romantic-comedy about two people, married to others, who meet for a romantic tryst once a year for two decades. The film is based on a 1975 play of the same title by Bernard Slade. Upon its release on November 22, the film garnered mixed reviews, with Janet Maslin of The New York Times stating, "Slade's screenplay isn't often funny, and it's full of momentous events that can't be laughed away", but praises Burstyn for giving the role "warmth and grace".[29] Same Time, Next Year was nominated for Academy Awards in Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song, and Best Actress for Burstyn.[30] At the Golden Globe Awards, she won Best Actress in a Motion Picture, and the film received two other nominations—Best Actor for Alda and Best Original Song.[31]

Burstyn hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live, a late-night sketch comedy and variety show, in December 1980.[32] That year, Burstyn starred in the drama Resurrection, a story about a woman who possesses strange powers after a surviving an automobile crash. She was nominated again for Best Actress in the Academy Awards and Best Actress in the Golden Globes.[33][34] In 1981, she starred in the biographical television movie The People vs. Jean Harris (1981), based on the real life murder of Herman Tarnower, a well-known cardiologist and author of the best-selling book The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet. Burstyn was nominated for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film in the Golden Globes for her portrayal of the murderer, Jean Harris.[35] She was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie.[36] In 1981, Burstyn recorded "The Ballad of the Nazi Soldier's Wife" for Ben Bagley's album Kurt Weill Revisited, Vol. 2.[37]

Burstyn followed up the mid-1980s with a number of roles in television films, including The Ambassador (1984), Surviving (1985), Twice in a Lifetime (1985), Into Thin Air (1985), Act of Vengeance (1986), Something in Common (1986) and play adaptation, Pack of Lies (1987). For Twice in a Lifetime, she co-starred with Gene Hackman and Ann-Margret. Burstyn portrays Kate, the wife that Hackman's character divorces when he falls in love with another woman. Pack of Lies was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, including another one for Burstyn as Outstanding Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie.[38]

In 1986, Burstyn starred in an ABC television sitcom, The Ellen Burstyn Show, with co-stars Megan Mullally as her daughter and Elaine Stritch as her mother. Created by David Frankel, it ran only for one season. In 1987, she appeared in Hanna's War (1987), and the television movies Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam and Look Away. In 1988, she then participated again as a member of the jury for the 38th Berlin International Film Festival.[39]

In 1990, Burstyn won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre.[40] A variety of acting performances followed suit, including in the dramas When You Remember Me (1990), Dying Young (1991) and Grand Isle (1991). In addition to television movies, Burstyn appeared in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994) with co-stars Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan.[41]

In 1995, Burstyn portrayed Judith in the comedy-drama Roommates (1995). The film received negative reviews and was a commercial failure, but it did receive a nomination for Best Makeup in the Academy Awards.[42][43] Also that year, Burstyn appeared in How to Make an American Quilt (1995), based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Whitney Otto, which tells the stories of several generations of women who are part of the same quilting circle. Despite a mixed critical response, the cast received a nomination for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.[44][45] In 1998, Burstyn appeared in Playing By Heart, with co-stars including Sean Connery and Angelina Jolie, a story of eleven ordinary people in Los Angeles who are connected in different ways. Some critics such as Roger Ebert viewed the film positively despite the lackluster performance at the box office.[46][47] Burstyn next found supporting roles in The Spitfire Grill (1996), about a woman starting a new life after being released from prison, and Deceiver (1997), a murder crime drama. Although not box office hits, each film garnered mixed to positive responses, according to film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.[48][49] Next, she appeared in James Gray's The Yards (2000) alongside a principal cast of Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, Faye Dunaway and James Caan. The crime drama was unpopular and a commercial failure, earning less than $1 million worldwide from a budget of $24 million.[50][51]

In 1999, director Darren Aronofsky offered Burstyn the role of Sara Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream (2000). She initially rejected the part, objecting to the depressive nature of the story. However, Burstyn changed her mind after seeing Aronofsky's previous work.[51] The film is based on the novel of the same name by Hubert Selby Jr, which tells the story of four New Yorkers whose lives are affected by drug addictions. To prepare for the role, Burstyn had to research troubled women in Brooklyn, "to get their speech patterns and outlook on life—and how narrow that is [...] their life is about getting enough money to put food on the table to feed their children, and that's it".[52] She also had to wear fat suits and lose about 10-pounds (4½ kg) to showcase her character's weight-loss.[52][53] Burstyn and her co-stars Jennifer Connelly, Jared Leto, and Marlon Wayans, found the filming schedule of forty days challenging and intense.[54] Requiem for a Dream premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and was released to theaters on October 6, 2000. The film was well received and praised for its visual style and depiction of drug abuse. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone writes, "Burstyn gives an award-caliber performance that is as raw and riveting as the movie that contains it".[55] Burstyn was nominated for Best Actress in the 2001 Academy Awards.[56]

Burstyn at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival

From 2000 to 2002, Burstyn starred in the CBS television series That's Life. The series, set in suburban New Jersey, ran for two seasons. Burstyn appeared in several more films, including Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), Brush with Fate (2003) and The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2004). Burstyn starred in the Broadway production of Martin Tahse's Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, based upon the novel of the same title by Allan Gurganus. The show played 19 previews and officially opened November 17, 2003. Due to unfavorable reviews, all performances after the opening night were cancelled.[57] She provided a supporting role as the mother of two sons in the 2006 romantic drama The Elephant King. The film originally premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, and opened in U.S. theaters October 2008.[58] In January 2006, she starred as an Episcopal bishop in the NBC comedy-drama series The Book of Daniel. The series, which also starred Aidan Quinn as a drug-addicted Episcopal priest married to an alcoholic wife, was met with controversy from religious and spiritual leaders due to its unconventional portrayals of religious figures.[59] Conservative groups including American Family Association and Focus on the Family urged supporters to complain to NBC affiliates that carried the show. NBC removed the series from its line-up after four episodes, but did not publicly provide a reason.[60]

In 2006, Burstyn appeared in the epic drama The Fountain, her second collaboration with Darren Aronofsky. Portraying Dr. Lillian Guzetti, the film is about a scientist (played by Hugh Jackman) struggling with mortality and is seeking a medical breakthrough to save his wife (Rachel Weisz) from cancer. Budgeted at $35 million, the screenplay is a blend of fantasy, history, spirituality, and science fiction. The Fountain premiered on November 22, 2006, to mixed reviews and under-performed at the box office.[61][62] Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, "The movie is overloaded with imagery. At times, it's stunning to look at, but gradually becomes too much", but praises Burstyn for her character's "impressive depth".[63] Since its release, the film managed to gain a cult following causing media to revisit the film.[64]

Burstyn at the 2009 Creative Arts Emmy Awards

In 2006, Burstyn was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie for the role of Former Tarnower Steady in HBO's Mrs. Harris, another biopic about Jean Harris.[65] Soon after the nominations were announced, questions were raised regarding the worthiness of the nomination due to her minor role in the film, consisting of 14 seconds of screen time and 38 words of dialogue. The nominating committee were accused of approving a "familiar" name without actually seeing their performance.[66] The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, administrator of the Emmy Awards, insisted it was a legitimate nomination.[67] Burstyn reacted, "I thought it was fabulous. My next ambition is to get nominated for seven seconds, and ultimately, I want to be nominated for a picture in which I don't even appear", adding, "This doesn't have anything to do with me ... work it out yourself".[68] Ultimately, Kelly Macdonald, who starred in The Girl in the Cafe, won the award.[69] In March 2007, the Academy adjusted the eligibility criteria.[70]

Burstyn also appeared in the thriller The Wicker Man (2006), a remake of the 1973 British film of the same name, which was a commercial flop and negatively received by critics.[71][72] Slant magazine was critical of the cast performances, writing that Burstyn "feigns arrogant malevolence".[73] A year later, Burstyn starred in The Stone Angel, based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Margaret Laurence. Like its predecessor, the film also garnered negative reviews, with Stephen Holden of The New York Times writing, "a film of tightly assembled bits and pieces that don’t fit comfortably together despite clever dashes of magical realism connecting past and present ... it leaves you frustrated by its failure to braid subplots and characters into a gripping narrative".[74] Burstyn followed up with parts in Lovely, Still (2008) and The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2008).[75]

In addition to film roles, between 2007 and 2011, Burstyn had an occasional recurring role on the HBO television drama series Big Love, playing the mother of polygamist wife Barbara Henrickson. Burstyn returned to the stage in March 2008, in the off-Broadway production of Stephen Adly Guirgis's The Little Flower of East Orange, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman in a co-production by LAByrinth Theater Company and The Public Theater.[76] In addition to her stage work, Burstyn portrayed former First Lady Barbara Bush in Oliver Stone's biographical film W. in 2008.[77]

In 2009, Burstyn won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of the bipolar estranged mother of Detective Elliot Stabler on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.[78]

Throughout the early 2010s, Burstyn starred in various independent films such as Main Street (2010), Another Happy Day (2011), and The Mighty Macs (2011). In 2012, she joined the cast of Political Animals, a television series about the life of a divorced former First Lady, serving as Secretary of State. Political Animals received generally favorable reviews from critics according to Metacritic.[79] At the 2013 Golden Globe Awards, the series was nominated for Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television.[80] Burstyn won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series.[81]

Burstyn portrayed the grandmother of Lou (played by Mackenzie Foy) in Wish You Well (2013). A year later, Burstyn and Foy worked together again in Christopher Nolan's epic science fiction Interstellar.[82] Set in a dystopian future where humanity is struggling to survive, the film follows a group of astronauts who travel through a wormhole in search of a new home for humanity. The film grossed over $700 million at the box office.[83]

In 2014, Burstyn made a guest appearance in five episodes of Louis C.K's critically acclaimed FX series Louie. She portrayed an elderly Hungarian neighbor of C.K. in the season four. Critic Emily Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club described Burstyn's performance as "marvelous".[84] Despite not receiving an Emmy nomination, she was earned awards buzz for her performance.[85] In an interview with The New York Times, Burstyn was asked about her reaction to the accusations of sexual misconduct against C.K. She responded by saying, "Louis just broke my heart because I love him. When I worked with him, I had such admiration for his talent and his person, his being. I know he’s a good person, but even good people have sexual hang-ups that hurt other people. I just wish he had gone to therapy or whatever so it didn’t have to ruin his life."[86] That same year she also starred in a thriller, The Calling, and the television film Flowers in the Attic. In 2015, Burstyn played Flemming, the daughter of Blake Lively's immortal character in The Age of Adaline. Production started in March 2014, and the film was released in April 2015.[87]

In 2016, Burstyn guest starred in five episodes of the critically acclaimed political thriller House of Cards. The New York Times praised Burstyn's character for adding "vitality and heart" in which earned her an Emmy nomination.[88] Burstyn was subsequently credited on a succession of low-budget films, including Custody (2016), The House of Tomorrow (2017), All I Wish (2017), and Nostalgia (2018). Burstyn also starred in Jennifer Fox's mystery drama The Tale, which premiered on HBO on May 26, 2018.[89] Burstyn served as an executive producer for Peter Livolsi's film The House of Tomorrow (2017), about her friend R. Buckminster Fuller, in which she also stars.[90] In 2019 she appeared in the drama film American Woman and the space drama Lucy in the Sky, both films were met with mixed reviews.[91]

In 2019, Burstyn played musicologist Katherine Brandt in an acclaimed Australian production of Moisés Kaufman's play 33 Variations at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre.[92] In 2020, Burstyn appeared in Kornél Mundruczó's drama, Pieces of a Woman to great acclaim. The film premiered at the 77th Venice International Film Festival where it received positive reviews for the performances with critic David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter describing Burstyn's performance as "formidable".[93] Burstyn received several award nominations for her performance including a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award and a London Critics Circle Film Award.[94][95] In 2021, Burstyn played Bernadette Stabler in Law & Order: Organized Crime,[96] and then portrayed Sara Roosevelt in the series The First Lady.[97]

In 2014, Burstyn indicated she was working on directing a feature film, Bathing Flo.[98][99] It was announced in July 2021 that Burstyn will reprise her role as Chris MacNeil for the first time since 1973 in the upcoming trilogy of sequels to The Exorcist.[100]