Winona Ryder On Being Back in the Spotlight: 'I'm Like, What?'

By Bobby Finger  |  October 5, 2017 | 1:45pm
CelebritiesDirt Bag

In an interview with Marie Claire, Winona Ryder opened up about the Netflix smash that rebooted her career (Stranger Things), how it feels to be famous again, how it felt to first become famous in the first place, and why she’ll never ever get into social media.

When asked about her “Winonaissance” (their term, not mine), Ryder said:

“It’s so overwhelming. I don’t know what it’s like for really famous people… I keep hearing that people are dressing up like me [as her character Joyce]. I’m like, ‘What?’”

After discussing her break from acting (which she refers to as her “hiatus, or whatever they want to call it”), she charmed the hell out of me by quoting The First Wives Club:

“There are definitely times when it feels like there’s a real drought. It’s like that line in First Wives Club: ‘There are only three ages for women in Hollywood – Babe, District Attorney and Driving Ms Daisy.’ Or mother, which I am now. Luckily, [Joyce in Stranger Things] is not a cookie-cutter character; I get to do some more stuff with it. But it’s also hard to complain.”

But my favorite revelation from the piece was about the beginning of her career. Ryder thought starring in 1986 Beetlejuice would stop the bullying she went through in school, but she reveals it only made things more miserable for her.

“I remember thinking, ‘Ooh, it’s like the number-one movie. This is going to make things great at school.’ But it made things worse. They called me a witch.”

Always relatable, Ryder also shared her thoughts about staying off social media, saying:

“People who I really respect talk about “relevance” but I’m like, “I don’t care, leave me alone.”

You can read the full piece over at Marie Claire.

[Marie Claire]