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Today’s turtle star is the one, the only, the acting queen Ellen Burstyn. Burstyn is one of the best actresses to ever grace the screen. She is known for playing complex women in such films as the ICONIC The Exorcist, Requiem for a Dream, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, The Last Picture Show and so many others. Burstyn has done it all and achieve many accolades being one of the few performers to achieve the “Triple Crown of Acting” by winning an Academy Award a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. She is missing that elusive Grammy to be in the class of EGOT. I’m rooting for you.
Chris MacNeil- The Exorcist (1973)
The greatest horror movie ever made and that is an absolute FACT and not an opinion. Burstyn is excellent as Chris MacNeil, an actress who is starring and filming a role in Washington, D.C. Chris is the mother to 12-year-old Regan. Shit gets real when Regan becomes possessed by a demon and needs an exorcism. Burstyn shows such fear and worries for her daughter in this role and the tole that it takes on her as she tries to find a way to help her daughter. One of the best roles she had done in her illustrious career.
Alice Hyatt- Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)
In the role that she won the Academy Award for; Burstyn is excellent as Alice Hyatt. Burstyn is a phenomenal actress who truly displayed major emotions in her character where you sympathize with her. Alice had big dreams of being an actress, but her life changed when she got pregnant, had a spoiled child and then her husband passes away suddenly. She moves away and becomes a waitress in a diner. I highly enjoyed Burstyn in this role as she showed the hardships of a single mother who is trying to provide but also find love in the hard world.
Sara Goldfarb- Requiem for a Dream (2000)
One of the few movies that straight up messed me up for years to come. I only watched this film twice in my life and Clint Mansell’s Lux Aeterna is by far one of the best compositions. In Darren Aronofsky’s film, Burstyn plays Sara, a widow living alone in an apartment. Her son Harry is a drug addict. Sara’s life changes when she receives a call to invite her on tv. This one call sends her on a devastating journey. Burstyn plays the role beautifully. She shows the crazy descent Sara goes on and her character’s ending is straight up sad. Burstyn was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for this role.
Lois Farrow- The Last Picture Show (1971)
The Last Picture Show is a film about some major high school drama. It also was about two boys and a girl going through life in their hometown. Burstyn plays Lois Farrow who is Jacy’s mother and seems to have her hands full. First off, she is beyond beautiful and had so much sex appeal about her. She is not in the movie too much, but damn, when she’s on, she is sexy. Burstyn was nominated for an Oscar for this role. She nailed it as this was her first nomination.
Edna Mae (Harper) McCauley- Resurrection (1980)
Burstyn performance was amazing and powerful performance. She plays Edna and, in the film, portrays a woman who survives a near fatal car accident. She soon discovers that she has the power of an angel as when she touches them, she can heal them. This causes shit to go down as many think she is a fake and in league with the devil. This film is powerful, and it is driven by Burstyn’s performance, and you feel the character’s pain as she gets courted by a crazy dude and things really get bad. It is a way to see what the power of a healing person can do in a town.
Bernadette “Bernie” Stabler- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2008)
Burstyn won the Emmy for this role. Her first Emmy ever. In the episode, “Swing”, in the long running Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Burstyn plays Bernie Stabler, the estrange mother of Elliot Stabler. Burstyn is fantastic in this guest appearance role as she play Bernadette as a person who is bipolar and is called to testify about the disorder. Burstyn brought her acting perfection to the small screen and was rewarded. The win helped her become one of few to receive the “Triple Crown of Acting”
Doris- Same Time, Next Year (1975)
I have to put this on the list. I could go the movie route or the Broadway route with this role. Even though I will put the movie version for a clip as Burstyn was nominated for the Academy Award for the role, she won the Tony for the award in 1975. That is bigger as it was the first major win in her illustrious career. In the role, Burstyn plays Doris a housewife from Oakland who has a decade long affair with George who lives in North Carolina. Burstyn plays the role beautifully as the play shows the impact of events between the characters. Watch the movie version as Burstyn is equally as good in it.
Elderly Murph- Interstellar (2014)
Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors. Interstellar is a mind-bending, EPIC space adventure that has mind blowing CGI and music that will touch your very soul. The water planet and the music are still one of the best visual and musically appealing scenes I have ever watched. Burstyn has a small role in this film, but she appears at the beginning. She is one of three actresses to play one role in the movie. Her main screen time comes at the end when the emotions are high, and the tears might flow.
Kate Mackenzie- Twice in a Lifetime (1985)
Burstyn gives a strong and emotional performance in this film as Kate, a mother and supportive wife who is caught off guard when her husband falls in love with another woman. Burstyn shows the downside and pain that Kate must go through as she navigates through a divorce being supportive of her adult children, while one is getting married and the other having marital problems and trying to find her own way in the new world that she must accept.
Sally- The King of Marvin’s Garden (1972)
The film before the iconic Exorcist, Burstyn showed her incredible range and showed that she was an incredible actress and a force to be reckoned with her performance in the King of Marvin’s Garden. You want to talk about a crazy character; Burstyn had this character on lockdown. Starring alongside the legend himself, Jack Nicholson, Burstyn plays Sally who is the wife of the introverted brother, a former beauty queen and a prostitute that also has manic depression. Burstyn is amazing in this role and she killed it.
