Los Angeles [US], November 10 (ANI): Veteran actor Ellen Burstyn has revealed that she turned down the role of Ruth Popper in Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 film The Last Picture Show, despite being told that it was the Oscar-winning part, as she wanted to avoid portraying a troubled relationship while going through her own divorce, according to People.
In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly published on November 8, Burstyn, 93, recalled that she was offered the opportunity to play three different characters during the film's pre-production. However, she had already set her sights on Lois Farrow, the mother of Jacy Farrow, played by Cybill Shepherd.
Burstyn was initially asked to audition for the role of Genevieve, the waitress eventually portrayed by Eileen Brennan. When she later spoke with Bogdanovich, she expressed her interest in playing Lois, according to People.
The director, however, wanted her to portray Ruth Popper, a character who enters into an affair with a high school student.
“I said no,” Burstyn recalled. “And he said, ‘That’s the Oscar-winning part.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I’m sorry. I don’t want to play it.’”
Explaining her decision, the actor said she was going through her divorce from Neil Burstyn at the time and did not want to spend her working hours portraying a relationship in distress.
“I didn’t want to be doing it 24 hours a day,” she said, according to People.
Cloris Leachman eventually played Ruth Popper and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1972. Burstyn, meanwhile, also received a nomination in the same category for her performance as Lois Farrow.
She went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1975 for her portrayal of Alice Hyatt in the 1974 film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, according to People.
Burstyn has also received major recognition for her work across theatre and television. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Doris in the Broadway production of Same Time, Next Year and two Primetime Emmy Awards for her roles in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Political Animals.
The actor could also be in contention for a Grammy nomination for her narration of the poetry book Poetry Says It Better, potentially bringing her closer to achieving EGOT status — winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
Speaking to People in October about the possibility, Burstyn said, “I’m really quite excited about the possibility. I don’t know if I have any chance in the world, if my book of recorded poems can stand up for an award. I hope so. But the idea of being an EGOT is somehow like a gift from I don’t know who. It’s lovely.” (ANI)
Ellen Burstyn says she turned down ‘Oscar-winning’ role in ‘The Last Picture Show’ to avoid portraying troubled relationship
