AARP Hearing Center
Ellen Burstyn shares insights into the longevity of her career, discusses her new book, and explains what makes her happy.
Key takeaways
- Choose work that aligns with your deepest passions to sustain career fulfillment long-term.
- Collaborate on projects where your input and unique perspective are truly valued and embraced.
- Stay curious and open to new creative outlets to keep your work fresh and meaningful.
Summary
Ellen Burstyn’s secret to career longevity lies in finding passion in your work and never losing your sense of purpose. At 93, she is still thriving in her acting career, crediting her success to always choosing roles that align with who she is — roles that reflect real women and authentic experiences. Burstyn also highlights the importance of collaborating with directors who value an actor’s input and the unique energy they bring to each scene, making the work personally fulfilling and creatively rich.
Discovering fulfillment at work isn’t just about the right opportunities; it’s about nurturing your curiosity, being open to new creative outlets, and staying true to your strengths. Burstyn’s career and her venture into writing demonstrate that pursuing what you love —whether on stage, in film, or through poetry — can bring lasting happiness. Her advice for a successful life and career: Find a way to make money doing something you’d gladly do for free, and you’ll never feel like you’re working at all.
The key takeaways and summary were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
Full Transcript:
[00:00:00] I’m 93, and I’m still working. I just don’t give up. I like what I do.
[00:00:06] I like my profession. I do have a feeling that I was born an actress.
[00:00:16] I just can remember the very first time I was on stage. I faced an audience and something went
[00:00:26] zzzzzzz zing. You know, I was home. And I knew it, and I never was going to be anything but an actress.
[00:00:33] I just knew that’s who I was. When I chose to do Alice, the scripts that were available for me
[00:00:50] to do, I could play the good wife, a prostitute, or she was an old maid.
[00:00:56] I wanted to make a film about a woman who is like the women I knew, and myself for that matter.
[00:01:02] I mean, it’s my life. It’s not some man’s life that I’m helping them out with. Martin Scorsese was the absolute
[00:01:10] best. He takes the scene that they’re going to shoot the next day and rehearse it just for the actress and him, and that’s when we, the actors,
[00:01:20] find out what is alive in our relationship that we can reveal.
[00:01:27] I’ve worked with a lot of great artists, you know. Darren Aronofsky is an actress’s dream, because he appreciates everything.
[00:01:40] He said this thing that just moved me so. When they asked him what he was most proud of in his career, he
[00:01:47] said that, “I was able to capture Ellen Burstyn’s performance on film.” And I love that idea of his capturing
[00:01:56] a performance. I’ve written this book, hopefully, uh, introducing poetry to people
[00:02:09] who don’t know it, and I feel like they’re really missing out on something that’s nourishing.
[00:02:15] There’s so much wisdom in poetry. Very often, I read a poem and go, yeah, that’s it.
[00:02:23] Right. My recipe for happiness in life is to find a way to make money at
[00:02:30] something you’d be glad to do for free. Now, do I miss anything? Tap dancing, maybe,
[00:02:39] but I pretty much do everything else.
