Winona Ryder has admitted she felt “lucky” to have been considered a “weirdo” growing up in the film industry, as she reflected on the Me Too movement in a new interview.
The 52-year-old actress was just 15 when she landed her first big film role in the film Lucas, before being catapulted to stardom at 16 after starring in 1988’s Beetlejuice – a role she recently reprised for the film’s long-awaited sequel.
And speaking in a new interview with Otherin which she dazzles in gothic black ensembles, Winona shared that she believed her identity somehow “protected” her from any unwanted attention in the industry.
She said: ‘With everything that’s happened in the last six years, you have to look back and think that it happened to someone the same age as you, like Jenna (Ortega) or Sadie (Sink), and it’s like, ‘Five-alarm fire, not right!’
‘Because back then it was always, “You’re so sensitive, he’s just joking. Have a sense of humor.” I always felt lucky that I was considered some kind of weirdo for so long… I was still surrounded by really inappropriate behavior. But I felt like my identity protected me in some way.
Winona Ryder has admitted she felt “lucky” to have been considered a “weirdo” growing up in the film industry, as she reflected on the Me Too movement in a new interview.
The actress, 52, was just 15 when she landed her first big film role in the movie Lucas, before being catapulted to stardom at 16 after starring in 1988’s Beetlejuice (pictured with Michael Keaton), a role she recently reprised for the film’s long-awaited sequel.
Speaking in a new interview with AnOther, in which she stuns in gothic black ensembles, Winona shared that she believed her identity “protected” her in some ways from any unwanted attention in the industry.
Winona appeared to allude to the Me Too movement, which is the social movement and awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, which was galvanized by the Harvey Weinstein allegations that first came to light in 2017.
During the chat, Winona recalled being with three young actresses in their twenties during the filming of the 1988 movie Heathers, and recounted how she witnessed some “really humiliating things” that were “not okay at all”, adding that the “lines were so blurred” in the ’80s.
The Stranger Things star added that working with kids her own age while navigating the industry in the ’80s made her realise how “unregulated” it was, with the actress noting that she’d “never had an HR meeting until #MeToo.”
The star went on to say that her heart breaks for “kids who weren’t protected” in the industry, noting that her parents’ reluctance to allow her to move to Hollywood somehow protected her from any potential danger.
Detailing how her parents were “distrustful” of Hollywood and wanted her to pursue her education alongside her film career, she added: “They associated it with the Judy Garland tragedy and we never moved there.”
“That turned out to be a great gift, because I knew a lot of kids who were in that situation. They moved and supported their whole family, and things didn’t turn out so well. I knew a lot of kids who suffered from burnout.”
With everything that’s happened in the last six years, you just have to think back and think about what happened to someone your age, like Jenna (Ortega) or Sadie (Sink), and it’s like, ‘Five-alarm fire, not cool!’
‘Back then, it was always, “You’re so sensitive, he’s just joking. Have a sense of humor.” I always felt lucky to be considered a bit of an oddball for so long… I was still surrounded by really inappropriate behavior.’ (Winona pictured in her first major film role, Lucas, 1986, aged 15)
The star went on to say that her “heart breaks” for “kids who weren’t protected” in the industry, noting that her parents’ reluctance to allow her to move to Hollywood somehow protected her from any potential danger.
Detailing how her parents were “wary” of Hollywood and wanted her to maintain her education alongside her film career, she added: “They associated it with the Judy Garland tragedy and we never moved there.”
“That turned out to be a great gift, because I knew a lot of kids who had endured it. They moved and supported their entire family, and things didn’t turn out so well. I knew a lot of kids who suffered from burnout.”
Winona began her acting career as a teenager in the mid-1980s, although she is not too happy with the current generation of her teenage co-stars.
The 52-year-old actress was just 15 when she made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas, and 17 when she played Lydia Deetz in 1988’s Beetlejuice.
While promoting the long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel, Ryder revealed in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that she’s been feeling frustrated with some of her younger co-stars lately.
“I don’t want to sound so hopeless. There are some people who just aren’t interested in movies. The first thing they say is, ‘How long is it?'” Ryder revealed.
She didn’t identify any specific cast members who shared this sentiment, though she did single out a younger kindred spirit.
Her Stranger Things co-star Finn Wolfhard is said to be “obsessed with Elliot Gould,” although it seems many of his younger co-stars don’t have the same passion for cinema.
Winona began her acting career as a teenager in the mid-1980s, although she is not too happy with the current generation of her teenage co-stars (pictured with Jenna Ortega).
Ryder also spoke to Esquire, where she admitted: “I went from being the youngest person on set to the oldest.”
“I think social media has changed everything and I know I look old. I’m very conscious of that,” Ryder admitted.
“And part of me is like, ‘Oh my God! Am I like a vaudevillian at this point?’ Like (in old lady voice), ‘Hey, kids, turn down the music!'” she joked.
“But I think there was such an abundance – the history of cinema, the history of photography, it’s so rich and there’s so much there, and I don’t want to say we should go backwards, but I wish and hope that the younger generation will study that,” she added.