Winona Ryder branded high school 'freak' after Beetlejuice role
Winona Ryder was branded a "freak" in high school when her breakout movie 'Beetlejuice' was released.
Winona Ryder was branded a "freak" in high school when 'Beetlejuice' was released.
The 52-year-old actress' breakout role came when she played goth teenager Lydia Deetz in the 1988 horror comedy, and while she thought the role would boost her "status" amongst her classmates, it didn't have the positive effect she'd hoped for.
She told the new issue of Esquire magazine: “I remember thinking that it was going to, like, change my status, and it made it worse. They were like, ‘You’re a witch! You’re a freak!’ It amplified it. I was like, ‘But I’m in a movie!’”
Winona admitted the styling departments on the movie didn't "have to do much" in terms of changing her appearance for the role.
She said: "I was very much like Lydia. They didn’t have to do much with me. My brother found a picture of me taken like a month before that audition. I’d dyed my hair blue-black, I had these crazy short bangs, and I dressed in black.”
The veteran actress praised her older co-stars, including Michael Keaton and Catherine O'Hara, and director Tim Burton for being so kind and welcoming to her on set, admitting she had much "rougher" experiences later in her career.
She said: “Michael was so gentle with me. And Catherine. They always included me. They were so kind and so thoughtful.
"It was unique because as a kid actor you don’t always get that. It’s about the adults.
"It truly was the first time I ever felt like I collaborated on a movie. And I really had a connection with Tim.
"I remember going on to other movies and it was not like that. People weren’t so kind. It was much rougher.”
Meanwhile, Winona admitted it is "nuts" to have been part of such a hugely popular show as 'Stranger Things' for so long.
She said: “Ten years! I never thought. [At first] I was like, ‘I don’t want to be doing this when I’m in my fifties!’ It’s nuts, and its extra nuts to be my age. But I love the boys and I love [the actors] Sadie [Sink] and Maya [Hawke]. It’s been really wonderful.”
And the actress appreciates how her career has gone full circle.
She said: “I’ve gone from being the youngest person on set to being the oldest. And I’m not oblivious in any way about the reason they came to me for it. I know there is an element of nostalgia [to my casting].”
The Autumn issue of Esquire UK is on sale now.
Read the full interview with Winona at https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a61825922/winona-ryder-interview-2024/.
