Ellen Burstyn broke down in tears before giving a heartfelt speech as she received the Venice Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement on Monday night.
The Exorcist star, 93, is one of an elite selection of thespians who have received the Triple Crown of acting (winning an Oscar, a Tony and two Primetime Emmy Awards).
And now she can also add a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to her collection.
Breaking down in tears after she was greeted with an overwhelming minutes-longstanding ovations she told the crowd: ‘You’re making me cry! You’re overwhelming me, you know. I don’t know how to recover from that generous greeting.’
She continued: ‘You can’t imagine how meaningful this is to me. It’s one thing to win an Oscar, a Tony or an Emmy — all of which I’ve won… But this … it’s a lot.’
Ellen is best known for her role as a desperate mother trying to cure her possessed daughter in a 1973 horror film dubbed the scariest of all time.
Ellen Burstyn, 93, broke down in tears as she received the Venice Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement after Oscar, Tony and Emmy wins on Monday night
She told the crowd: ‘You can’t imagine how meaningful this is to me. It’s one thing to win an Oscar, a Tony or an Emmy — all of which I’ve won… But this … it’s a lot’
Her latest project sees her starring as Marilyn Monroe alongside Dakota Johnson in her newest film Flesh Impact.
Reflecting on her career, Ellen continued: ‘At 93, it means you have a far about of lifetime to look back on.
‘I thought, maybe it’s not just a record of what you’ve accomplished, but what you’ve learned.’
Recalling an anecdote from shooting Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore in 1974, she was required to film a driving scene at night while the director and the cinematographer were on the hood of the car and blocking her view of the street.
‘I couldn’t see the side of the road; I could go off and kill all of us,’ she said.
‘But then I noticed, this is a two-way road. There’s a white line in the middle of the road, and I can see that. So all I have to do is look up to the left, and follow the white line. And that’s how I managed to not kill Martin Scorsese.’
Drawing a parallel with the experience and the climate in the US she added: ‘I wanted to close out saying how deeply appreciative I am of this Golden Lion and I hope — no, pray — that my own country will find its own white line.’
In her 90s, Burstyn’s career remains as vibrant as ever. In her latest role in a short film, Flesh Impact, she plays a 100-year-old version of Monroe in the project, which was both written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
The short film is described as ‘a love letter’ to Monroe, starring Dakota Johnson as a young Marilyn, and is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, just three months after what would have been the late actress’s 100th birthday.
Burstyn has starred in films such as The Exorcist (1973), Requiem For A Dream (2000), Interstellar (2014) and Pieces Of A Woman (2020).
It’s The Exorcist star Ellen Burstyn! She played Chris MacNeil in the iconic 1973 horror
She received an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974).
The Exorcist debuted in December 1973, following Burstyn’s Chris MacNeil as she enlists the help of two priests (Max Von Sydow and William O’Malley) to exorcise a demon named Pazuzu from her daughter Regan.
William Friedkin (The French Connection) directed the original, with The Exorcist author William Peter Blatty writing the screenplay adaptation based on his book.
Based on a book of the same name by William Peter Blatty – who adapted it for screen himself – the film was beset by problems during production.
An unexplained fire at one point burnt down most of the set – delaying filming by six weeks – but curiously spared the bedroom where Blair’s character, Regan, endures her demonic possession.
