Ellen Burstyn’s most prized role was a not-so-dreamy character.
While the Academy Award-winning “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” star told the Daily News that choosing a favorite is like “asking a mother who’s her favorite child,” one did come to mind.
“Probably ‘Requiem for a Dream,’” Burstyn, 88, told The News last week while promoting her new film, “Queen Bees,” now in theaters.
Based on Hubert Selby Jr.’s book of the same name, the 2000 psychological drama from Darren Aronofsky centers on four drug addicts, including Burstyn’s Sara Goldfarb, and the delusions brought about by their substance abuse.
The role landed Burstyn an Oscar nomination — one of many for the Triple Crown of Acting title-holder, who was also nominated for her work in “The Last Picture Show,” “The Exorcist” and “Same Time, Next Year,” to name a few.
“Requiem,” Burstyn said, “made demands on me that no other film did and whenever you can actually fulfill the ... difficult demands of a job, you always kind of feel good about that.”
For that reason, the film “does have a special place. Just that in that it’s the hardest of all of them,” said the Emmy and Tony winner.
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