Ed Burns talks new film, key to marriage with Christy Turlington
Ed Burns chats with USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa about his new film “Millers in Marriage” and the advice he and wife Christy Turlington give to couples.
NEW YORK − Ed Burns is a New Yorker through and through. He’s excited about his Knicks’ chances in the NBA. He’s looking forward to seeing baseball superstar Juan Soto play for the Mets. And he can be honest with himself when it comes to his films.
“I think it probably comes with age,” Burns, 57, tells USA TODAY of his self-candor while promoting his latest film, “Millers in Marriage” (in theaters and on demand now). “I made a movie called ‘Ash Wednesday.’ It was my fifth film and it was this little, low-budget gangster movie. I recognized when I was in the editing room that the screenplay wasn’t strong enough.”
The admission pushed Burns to ask “every tough question of that screenplay,” which is something he’s done for the last 10 years.
“Then if the movie doesn’t work, you can at least look back and say, ‘We did everything we could with the screenplay,’ ” he says.
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‘Millers in Marriage’ started at a dinner party
Burns was at dinner with friends and the conversation turned to films made in the ’90s “about every Gen X threshold experience: first love, moving to New York, first jobs, first marriages.”
The actor realized that there were no films about what he and friends his age currently go through. It inspired him to write “Millers in Marriage.” He also directs and stars in the movie.
People in their 50s are “relegated to playing the annoying boss” or the mom or dad roles, he says. “The day-to-day stuff that we’re going through isn’t explored. So from that is when I came up with the idea. It would be interesting to look at empty nesting and what is it like for couples when the kids are out of the house? How do you define yourself if you’re no longer actively parenting?”
For “Millers in Marriage,” Burns, Gretchen Mol and Julianna Margulies play three siblings who explore those questions and more. The cast also includes Minnie Driver and Benjamin Bratt. It premiered at Toronto International Film Festival last September. Burns plays an artist, Andy, and allows there are parallels between his character and his real-life career.
One line in the film is ” ‘You can’t get your agent on the phone,’ ” he recalls. “Any actor in Hollywood has gone through that experience at some point. Hollywood careers are all peaks and valleys, and when you’re in the valley, sometimes that phone call doesn’t get returned as quickly as it should.”
Ed Bursn and Christy Turlington’s lives as empty nesters
Another parallel between the film and Burns is that both of the kids he shares with wife Christy Turlington are off to college. All is good on the home front, he says: His kids love college. Turlington is preparing to mark the 15th anniversary of her charity Every Mother Counts, which raises awareness for maternal health. And the family has a “nice vacation” planned for the summer. Burns and Turlington will celebrate their 22nd anniversary in June.
“It’s a cliche to say, but it’s communication,” says Burns when asked about marriage advice. “You kind of know (in the) early days, are you a couple that talks? And if you do, I think you’re going to be fine. That’s worked out for us.”
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