1 | [[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bmtu4mjyxmdc3mf5bml5banbnxkftztywnzu3mdiz_v1_uy1200_cr8506301200_al.jpg]] |
2 | |
3 | Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American actress. She won the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Actress for her performance in ''Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore''. |
4 | |
5 | ---- |
6 | |
7 | !!Film roles on this wiki: |
8 | * ''Film/TheLastPictureShow'' (1971): Lois Farrow |
9 | * ''Film/TheKingOfMarvinGardens'' (1972): Sally |
10 | * ''Film/TheExorcist'' (1973): Chris [=MacNeil=] |
11 | * ''Film/AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore'' (1974): Alice Hyatt |
12 | * ''Film/HarryAndTonto'' (1974): Shirley Mallard |
13 | * ''Film/{{Resurrection|1980}}'' (1980) : Edna Mae [=McCauley=] |
14 | * ''Film/DyingYoung'' (1991): Mrs. O'Neil |
15 | * ''Film/HowToMakeAnAmericanQuilt'' (1995): Hy Dodd |
16 | * ''Film/TheBabySittersClub'' (1995): Mrs. Haberman |
17 | * ''Film/PlayingByHeart'' (1998): Mildred |
18 | * ''Film/RequiemForADream'' (2000): Sara Goldfarb |
19 | * ''Literature/DivineSecretsOfTheYaYaSisterhood'' (2002): Vivi Abbott Walker |
20 | * ''Film/{{The Wicker Man|2006}}'' (2006): Sister Summersisle |
21 | * ''Film/TheStoneAngel'' (2007): Hagar Shipley |
22 | * ''Film/{{W}}'' (2008): Barbara Bush |
23 | * ''Film/AccordingToGreta'' (2009): Katherine |
24 | * ''Film/TheMightyMacs'' (2009): Mother St. John |
25 | * ''Film/DraftDay'' (2014): Barb Weaver |
26 | * ''Film/FlowersInTheAttic'' and ''Film/PetalsOnTheWind'' (2014): Olivia Foxworth |
27 | * ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'' (2014): Old Murphy |
28 | * ''Film/TheAgeOfAdaline'' (2015): Flemming |
29 | * ''Film/AboutScout'' (2015): Gram |
30 | * ''Film/WienerDog'' (2016): Nana |
31 | * ''Film/LucyInTheSky'' (2019): Nana Holbrook |
32 | * ''Film/TheExorcistBeliever'' (2023) |
33 | |
34 | ---- |
35 | !!Tropes associated with her work: |
36 | * ActorInspiredElement:[[invoked]] Ellen came up with the idea to have Chris wear a bracelet with a horseshoe on it in ''Film/TheExorcist''. Her reasoning was that she wanted Chris to be "poorly armed" to fight the devil. |
37 | * AuteurLicence:[[invoked]] She was given this for ''Film/AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore'', and her goal was to make a film about a woman with real-life problems. |
38 | * TheDanza:[[invoked]] In the film ''Resurrection'', she plays an Edna, which is her birth name. |
39 | * DyeingForYourArt:[[invoked]] |
40 | ** For a scene in ''Film/TheKingOfMarvinGardens'', she cut off her hair on camera. |
41 | ** Averted with the weight loss in ''Film/RequiemForADream'', which was achieved by prosthetics. She also wore wigs. |
42 | * PlayingAgainstType:[[invoked]] In later years she often plays the CoolOldLady. Thus quite a shock to see her as the EvilMatriarch Olivia Foxworth in the TV version of ''Film/FlowersInTheAttic''. |
43 | * StageNames: She was initially Erica Dean as a dancer on ''The Jackie Gleason Show'', and then Ellen [=McRae=]. She became Burstyn after marrying. |
44 | * ThrowItIn:[[invoked]] |
45 | ** ''Film/TheExorcist'' has a scene where Chris is thrown away from the bed, the harness jerked her hard and she landed on her coccyx. Her scream of pain is real, and it's used in the final film. |
46 | ** In ''Film/AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore'', Alice says "I don't sing with my ass". This was an ad-lib from Ellen. |
47 | * TypeCasting:[[invoked]] In both ''Film/TheAgeOfAdaline'' and ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'' she plays the [[TimeShiftedActor older version]] of a child whose parent stayed young. Both characters have surnames as their first names (Flemming and Murphy respectively). |
48 | * WagTheDirector:[[invoked]] She agreed to star in ''Film/TheExorcist'' as long as she didn't have to say the line "I believe in the devil". |
49 | * WhatCouldHaveBeen:[[invoked]] |
50 | ** Creator/AudreyHepburn was the first choice for Chris in ''Film/TheExorcist'' but insisted on the film being shot in Rome, where she was living. Jane Fonda, Shirley Maclaine and Louise Fletcher passed on the role before Ellen was cast. |
51 | ** When auditioning for ''Film/TheLastPictureShow'', she was up for the role of Genevieve, but was then asked to read for Ruth. She then insisted she was a better fit for Lois. After taking a day to think it over, that's who she was cast as. |
52 | ** She turned down ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'' because she was caring for her sick husband at the time. Even so, she's often mistaken for Creator/LouiseFletcher, who did play the role (and they would both later play the role of the cruel grandmother in [[Film/FlowersInTheAttic1987 separate]] [[Film/FlowersInTheAttic adaptations]] of ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic''). |
53 | ** She almost didn't do the film ''Resurrection'', as the plot was originally a more ''Exorcist''-esque thriller. When the film became more of a fantasy drama, she came on board. |
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