Ellen Burstyn On Why She’s ‘Juggling’ So Many Roles At 90

“I don’t know, except possibly that everybody else who could play those parts has already died,” she speculated.

While speaking with her Law and Order: Organized Crime costar Christopher Meloni for Interview magazine, the actress revealed that she’s getting a “bizarre” amount of work.

“I turn 91 in December and I’m busier than I can ever remember being at any point in my career,” said the Oscar-winning actress.

At the time of the interview early in July, Burstyn notes that she was “juggling” two different movies.

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“And I don’t understand it at all. I mean, what’s all this stuff about ageism in Hollywood? How did I get left out of it?”

When Meloni asked what the reasoning might be, Burstyn gave a comically grim response.

“I don’t know, except possibly that everybody else who could play those parts has already died,” she speculated.

“So I’m the only actress still standing who can play the great-grandmother or something.”

Burstyn recently starred in Universal’s The Exorcist: Believer, a direct followup to the 1973 horror classic. Burstyn returns as MacNeil, an actress whose daughter Regan (Linda Blair) shared a body with a demon back in the day.