I’m tenacious, I think – I know – and I do also have a quality where if you tell me I can’t do something, if I know I can’t do it I’m the first to raise my hand and say, “I can’t do that.” But there is a big Bronx, New York Jew in me that just says, “Really? Really? You think I – yes, I can. I can do it. I can do it.
Ellen BarkinI guess I worry about weird existential things, like how do we spend our final act. This is a very emotional question. I can't answer it without crying. I think, You're 56 years old, what did you do? You raised two good kids. What am I going to do now that is as meaningful as that? I don't know the answer yet.
Ellen BarkinI studied acting for 10 years before I went for an audition. I studied with Lee Strasberg and Actors Studio teachers, and went to the High School of Performing Arts.
Ellen BarkinWhen I played Leonardo DiCaprio's mother, they liked that Leo had very hooded eyes and a rounded nose with a ball. They said, They look like they could be mother and son.
Ellen BarkinBut one of the hardest things for me to do was to access anger. I could do it on stage. But when I did it on film it was hard for me. That probably has to do with the intimacy of film. And my own personal issues with expressing anger. So I had to learn how to do that.
Ellen BarkinI am to a fault an introspective person. But I am not a reflective person - except for a big mistake, and then I really think about it.
Ellen BarkinI’m tenacious, I think – I know – and I do also have a quality where if you tell me I can’t do something, if I know I can’t do it I’m the first to raise my hand and say, “I can’t do that.” But there is a big Bronx, New York Jew in me that just says, “Really? Really? You think I – yes, I can. I can do it. I can do it.
Ellen Barkin