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I expected her to recite the title, or maybe just the name of the poet.
Did you read, by any chance, that beautiful poem inThe New York Times Magazinesection this week?
If you hold on a minute, Ill read it to you, she said.
Burstyn put down the phone.
Burstyn didnt just read this poem, she performed it for an audience of one.
Her last name has an accent over thee.
Its a few verses about treating one another tenderly, being gentle with strangers.
Burstyn took her time as she read it, punctuating some words with passion, whispering others with reverence.
How are you today?Im doing very well.
I had a big event last night.
I interviewed Al Pacino.
We started at 7 and it was supposed to be an hour, and we went till 10.
Its part of our curriculum.
Its called a craft seminar.
Weve had the show,Inside the Actors Studio, on the air for close to 20 years.
It was hosted by Jim Lipton, whos retired now, so we now have circulating hosts.
Alec Baldwin started hosting, and weve had three others.
Last night was my turn, and I did Al.
Hes so brilliant, and hes just a genius.
I just saw the film that he did with Marty Scorsese thats going to open soon, calledThe Irishman.
That is staggering, its so brilliant.
Als playing Jimmy Hoffa in it.
Marty very graciously gave us a scene from it to show last night.
Al is just a genius!
Hes a little unusual, shall we say.
He talks brilliantly, but [in conversation] he comes to many crossroads and takes them.
Its kind of my job to to wrangle him back.
It was fun and deep and wonderful, and I just love it.
They said theyre going to make two shows out of it.
What did you think of thede-aging?It was so successful that I didnt even notice.
They looked young and they looked old, but the technology wasnt anything that jumped out.
I wish theyd invented it for people offscreen.
So weve known each other.
I mean, thats howIfeel about him, anyway.
But youre always with the intention of coming to some understanding about the character.
He did it every day, and then the answer came to him.
You know, its so gloriously mysterious when it flowers in you.
I like that.You cant force it, you know.
Is there a certain place or time of day, maybe, when you feel your unconscious the clearest?
Or the strongest?Certainly in dreams.
Dreams are very usable.
I find when Im by the ocean, the unconscious is more available.
Silence is important; but not silence:solitariness.
I love to go near the ocean when Im finding a character.
It mightve been Natalie who asked for me, because I knew her before.
I didnt know Noah Hawley.
I just flew in and shot it and flew out.
I just love spending a little time with her, you know?
I told her that I memorized a poem every day to keep my mind sharp and my memory working.
Jon Hamm piped up and said, Oh, she told me it was cocaine!
I memorize poetry whenever Im not working on a role.
I carry a lot of them in my memory.
If I feel like its been too long since Ive memorized something, I memorize a new poem.
I knew it was funny.
The character knew it was funny.
But I was terrified to inhale smoke because I get bronchitis so easily.
I cough very easily if I inhale smoke.
So they kept assuring me that I wouldnt have any trouble with these herbal cigarettes that they got.
But I was terrified.
Well, terrified is too strong a word.
So that was a big relief.
That was my main preparation: how was it gonna go with those cigarettes.
I had to find her walk, moving into that time where shes at the end of her life.
Its like tamping down all of the energy that I have into a more constricted, quieter ball.
I had to allow myself to be frail.
But tough, thats what she was.
She was physically frail and emotionally tough, or her character was tough.
So I loved her, she was funny!
Its funny, because you seem so vivacious, so full of energy.
I stopped smoking and I stopped drinking and I stopped the occasional marijuana.
I stopped eating meat and just got healthy.
Started exercising, which I hadnt done.
Im actually working more now than I ever did.
I dont mean to brag.
At least a triangle!
Tell me more.Im just being sarcastic.
A love triangle, not really.
I tried not to do that.
You know, what a mess it is.
But its a mess.
A lot of peoples childhood dream is to be an astronaut.
What was yours?What did I want to do when I was a child?
Oh, I think I wanted to be Betty Grable.
Do you remember who Betty Grable is?
I dont think I had very high aspirations.
I think I pretty much wanted as much glitter as possible.
Only later did I start discovering other aspects of life that were possible ways to go.
But I must say that acting was always part of me.
I did it in school, its what I could do well, its what I came in with.
Do you think of acting, or being an artist, as a vocation?
I am very grateful to live the life of an artist and also to live with other artists.
All of my friends are artists.
Its not that I dont feel comfortable with people who arent artists, its not that.
Its that I feel at home with artists.
I just think its a real blessing.
I know that you are a lifelong Democrat.
Have you decided whom youll support in 2020?Well, I like Elizabeth Warren!
I think shes saying all the right things.
I think she has the best shot.
Shes better than Joe Biden by a mile.I do too.
Yeah, I like Joe Biden very much, but he is looking not young enough, isnt he?
It makes life seem so grounded and spiritual, even though were far from the tribe and the fire.
I guess thats what I like about it.
Were having a very hard time right now, you know?
Were living in such a dangerous and explosive and brutal, brutal time.
Its really unlike anything any of us have ever experienced.
Its new on the planet.
So I guess we have to make more of an effort to remember to be kind even to strangers.
Maybe especially to strangers.
Thank you for reading that.Youre welcome.
Its a pleasure to give a poem like that to someone.
