Ellen Burstyn Says She's 'Busier' Now Than Ever in Her Career: 'I'm 90 and Still Going'

Ellen Burstyn's career isn't slowing down.

In a chat for Interview magazine with her Law & Order: Organized Crime costar, Christopher Meloni, the Exorcist: Believer actress reflected on the "bizarre" feeling of still having a flourishing screen presence at 90.

"I turn 91 in December and I’m busier than I can ever remember being at any point in my career," said Burstyn, who shared later in the conversation, which was conducted on July 12, that she was "juggling" the production of two movies in the fall.

She added, "And I don’t understand it at all. I mean, what’s all this stuff about ageism in Hollywood? How did I get left out of it?"

When asked by Meloni, 62, what she attributes it all to, Burstyn joked, "I don’t know, except possibly that everybody else who could play those parts has already died, so I’m the only actress still standing who can play the great-grandmother or something."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

She also said she has a lot to be grateful for, telling Meloni of her wake-up routine, "I try to have the first words out of my mouth be, 'Thank you.' "

"Thank you that I’m alive. Thank you that I’m safe. Thank you that I’m healthy. Thank you that I’m 90 and still going," Burstyn said. "Thank you for my doggies. I mean, I have a lot to live in a state of gratitude for."

After Meloni said he "marvel(s) at how strong" she is, Burstyn noted that she is vegetarian and that "the secret of that is eating well, exercising, not drinking, not smoking, not doing drugs, and deciding to live healthy."

"That’s what I decided after doing all those bad things for a couple of decades," she added.

As for what she does for fun now, "I walk my doggies. I read an awful lot. I go to concerts. I play with my friends, have people over," Burstyn said.

Touching on her return to the Exorcist franchise for the first time and reprising her role as Chris MacNeil from the original 1973 film, Burstyn told Meloni with a laugh, "I don’t know if anybody in the history of filmmaking has ever recreated a character they did 50 years ago. It sounds like a first to me."

"There aren’t that many people who are still working in the business after 50 years, let alone recreating a character they did that long ago," she continued. "I have a real connection and feeling for the other actors in the film, because we all went through something. You don’t make a movie like that without going through a lot of real, emotional stuff. So the things that happened in that film, that touched on things from the first film, grabbed me."

The Oscar winner also said she has "a lot of respect" for the new movie's director and co-writer, David Gordon Green, who helmed the most recent Halloween trilogy.

"He’s a deep thinker, and it shows in the script," Burstyn said. "I’m anxious to see how people respond to it, because it’s very different from the first one, but certain elements are the same."

The Exorcist: Believer is in theaters Friday, Oct. 6.