Ellen Burstyn thought her career would be "finished" at 40.

The 93-year-old actress has enjoyed a hugely successful career on stage and screen, and Ellen has admitted to being surprised by her own longevity.

Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, Ellen shared: "When I was in my 30s and I thought about how long my career would last, I was sure I'd be finished by 40. I didn't think it would go on much longer than that.

"The fact that I'm 93 and still working is a miracle of some kind that I've attracted into my life. I'm totally amazed, and at the same time, deeply grateful."

Ellen's latest movie project is Place to Be, a Kornel Mundruczo-directed drama film that also stars the likes of Taika Waititi, Pamela Anderson, Édgar Ramírez, Lena Waithe, Murray Bartlett, and Maika Monroe.

The film tells the story of two unlikely friends who travel from Chicago to New York City to return a lost racing pigeon, and Kornel has admitted to being touched by the story.

Kornel said: "Pigeons are the losers of history.

"At the beginning, they were so important as messenger birds during war, and [they delivered] a ton of love stories. And then they became city rats. I found something very touching from these little birds."

Taika insists he's fond of pigeons - but he does have one particular complaint.

The Hollywood star quipped: "They s*** a lot. Every minute. And that's a scientific fact. Physiologically, there's something not right with them."

Meanwhile, Ellen previously claimed that she's fulfilling her career "destiny".

The actress is thrilled that she's been able to enjoy a "meaningful and happy life".

The veteran film star told People: "It's my feeling that if you're an artist of any kind, whether it's an actor or a musician or a painter, that path is going to make your life meaningful to you, and following that path is your destiny.

"I always tell young actors, my secret to a meaningful and happy life is to find a way to earn a living in something that should be happy to do for free. The most happy people that I know are the ones who have done that, who are working from an internal impulse, something they just have to do and want to do to just pay the rent. So that's the way I feel it's been for me."

Ellen is also thrilled that she's still working in the movie business.

She said: "When I was making movies in my 40s, I was surprised that I was doing leads in movies then. Little did I know that I would still be working at this level in my 90s, and I love it."