The Baller

Hollywood’s greatest broad, ELLEN BARKIN, on the rules for living a badass life.

- Sarah Cristobal

If being a badass is being a person who doesn’t take shit from anyone, then yes, that would be me. I guess it’s the best lesson my father ever taught me—never to give a fuck about what the other guy is doing.

I don’t look over my shoulder, and I never have. I stay in my own lane, and my race is against myself. I know I’m a tough cookie, but that’s because I’m always looking for perfection. I’ve got two speeds—1 and 100. I can’t go in the middle. As I get older and the parts become less interesting, I do wish I could cruise at 50, but I have too much respect for my art, my profession. And, yeah, I won’t stop fighting either. I’m 64 years old. I’ve been doing this for 40 years. This is the way I work.

One of the best benefits of getting older is that I no longer feel guilty about protecting myself. That’s a big thing in my job because the gender disparity is outrageous. I don’t think there’s a working actress alive who I wouldn’t call a badass. It’s a hard job, made even harder by being a woman.

Do I think that the ill treatment of women in the entertainment industry will disappear? No, I don’t. Not in my lifetime anyway. We’re talking about centuries of ingrained behavior, and considering we are an industry that trades on sex, I don’t ever expect to see any other real dynamic.