--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wanted to work on this central problem…" description: "\"I wanted to work on this central problem of killing. How you go about killing. Now, in the film I had to kill my children - well, I didn't want to get ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be4/ellen-burstyn-12671_about_i-wanted-to-work-on-this-central-problem_1436097.jpg" --- # I wanted to work on this central problem of killing. How… ![“I wanted to work on this central problem of killing. How you go about killing. Now, in the film I had to kill my children - well, I didn't want to get that far.” quote by Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be4/ellen-burstyn-12671_about_i-wanted-to-work-on-this-central-problem_1436097.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be4/ellen-burstyn-12671_about_i-wanted-to-work-on-this-central-problem_1436097.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be4/ellen-burstyn-12671_about_i-wanted-to-work-on-this-central-problem_1436097.jpg) > “I wanted to work on this central problem of killing. How you go about killing. Now, in the film I had to kill my children - well, I didn't want to get that far.” [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The actor grapples with portraying killing, confronting moral limits when a role demands harming children. **In simple terms:** Acting can force confronting uncomfortable moral dilemmas. Key Takeaway Set personal boundaries in art. Themes ethics acting morality Mood thoughtful intense conflicted Type philosophical conversational When to use this quote - film production - role preparation - ethical decision making Key Concepts psychology artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - When should an actor refuse a role? - How do you reconcile art and morality? A Different Perspective Artistic freedom can clash with personal values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“Is there really a difference between that killing and this killing? Does God approve of some killing and not other killing? If I kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/is-there-really-a-difference-between-that-killing-and-this-killing/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“I don't condone killing, but if killing happens anyway, then I think women go about it much more sensibly. Leave it to men to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-berry/i-don-t-condone-killing-but-if-killing-happens-anyway-then-i-think/) [Julie Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-berry/) > [I am not talking about the American people and the British people, I am talking about those mercenaries. ... They have started throwing those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/i-am-not-talking-about-the-american-people-and-the-british-people-i/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [“These children are our future. We were children once. All of us were. Bad bloods are an evolution. They are a mutation, not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-a-thompson-2/these-children-are-our-future-we-were-children-once-all-of-us-were/) Shannon A Thompson > [The first law of humanity is not to kill your children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/the-first-law-of-humanity-is-not-to-kill-your-children/) [Hans Joachim Schellnhuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/) > [We struggle to understand how any mother could kill her own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-brown/we-struggle-to-understand-how-any-mother-could-kill-her-own-children/) [Pat Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-brown/) > [Last but not least among serial killer methodologies, we have women who kill their own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-brown/last-but-not-least-among-serial-killer-methodologies-we-have-women/) [Pat Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-brown/) > [We can forgive you for killing our children, but we can never forgive you for making us kill your children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/golda-meir/we-can-forgive-you-for-killing-our-children-but-we-can-never-forgive/) [Golda Meir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/golda-meir/) > [My understanding, I was not standing nearby, but my understanding is that President Xi Jinping said, "Well, no one should kill children." The Chinese…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-w-tillerson/my-understanding-i-was-not-standing-nearby-but-my-understanding-is/) [Rex W. Tillerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-w-tillerson/) > [WHATEVER YOU DO HATERS DON'T KILL MY CHILDREN FOR ME! JUST LOVE THEM FOR WHO THEY ARE I BEG!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chill-sauce-ktn/whatever-you-do-haters-don-t-kill-my-children-for-me-just-love-them/) [CHILL SAUCE KTN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chill-sauce-ktn/) > [“Daddy, why did God kill all those children?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-haward/daddy-why-did-god-kill-all-those-children/) Joseph Haward > [ To kill \[children in the womb\] makes us all the poorer, insensitive, calloused and jaded. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-brownback/to-kill-children-in-the-womb-makes-us-all-the-poorer-insensitive/) [Sam Brownback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-brownback/) > [Having to delete songs for making room in your iPod is like having to kill some of your children because you can't feed them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-to-delete-songs-for-making-room-in-your-ipod-is-like-having-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That’s rule number one in the parenting handbook: don’t kill your children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sortwell/that-s-rule-number-one-in-the-parenting-handbook-don-t-kill-your/) Pete Sortwell > [It sends out a very clear message: "Mess with us and we'll do something worse than kill you. We'll kill your children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-sends-out-a-very-clear-message-mess-with-us-and-we-ll-do-something/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) ## More by Ellen Burstyn > [It's interesting: John Calley at Warner Bros. helped me put 'Alice' together. It was very unusual back then for a studio to support an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/it-s-interesting-john-calley-at-warner-bros-helped-me-put-alice/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [The real work of an actor goes on inside, and I don't think it changes from director to director - I always go for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/the-real-work-of-an-actor-goes-on-inside-and-i-don-t-think-it-changes/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [I feel eager to learn as much as I can, not only about my craft but the world and the cosmos and how we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/i-feel-eager-to-learn-as-much-as-i-can-not-only-about-my-craft-but/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [I'm interested in the cosmos. I want to know what's out there and how connected we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/i-m-interested-in-the-cosmos-i-want-to-know-what-s-out-there-and-how/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [Bob Duvall is a great actor because each time out, he creates a whole, complete character. You have the feeling that you're not seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/bob-duvall-is-a-great-actor-because-each-time-out-he-creates-a-whole/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [I talked to women who lived there, to get their speech patterns and outlook on life - and how narrow that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/i-talked-to-women-who-lived-there-to-get-their-speech-patterns-and/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [It's a sin to have your films not to make money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/it-s-a-sin-to-have-your-films-not-to-make-money/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [When I was 19, I took a train from Houston to New York, and I had in my lap the collected works of William…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/when-i-was-19-i-took-a-train-from-houston-to-new-york-and-i-had-in-my/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [Well my taste wasn't very good when I first started out. But later, when I began to appreciate the art of acting, I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/well-my-taste-wasn-t-very-good-when-i-first-started-out-but-later/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [Their life is about getting enough money to put food on the table to feed their children, and that's it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/their-life-is-about-getting-enough-money-to-put-food-on-the-table-to/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [The only Shakespeare I ever did was a production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' two years in a row in my garden in Rockland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/the-only-shakespeare-i-ever-did-was-a-production-of-a-midsummer-night/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [I couldn't kill a chicken, I couldn't kill a cow - I was a vegetarian too at that time - so I thought, well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/i-couldn-t-kill-a-chicken-i-couldn-t-kill-a-cow-i-was-a-vegetarian/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [I left my career in Hollywood, moved back to New York, and went to Lee Strasberg and studied with him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/i-left-my-career-in-hollywood-moved-back-to-new-york-and-went-to-lee/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [There's no doubt that the patriarchy that we live in also controls the movie industry. The heads of the studios are men, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/there-s-no-doubt-that-the-patriarchy-that-we-live-in-also-controls/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [I've liked all the directors I've worked with a lot. And the ones I like best are the ones that have really good taste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/i-ve-liked-all-the-directors-i-ve-worked-with-a-lot-and-the-ones-i/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) [Explore all 53 Ellen Burstyn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. 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As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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