Winona Ryder Says Schoolmates Called Her a “Witch” and a "Freak" After Starring in ‘Beetlejuice’
“I remember thinking it was going to change my status, and it made it worse.”
Beloved actress Winona Ryder is opening up about her role in the iconic 1988 film Beetlejuice and how it impacted her life as a teenager.
On Thursday, Aug. 29, in a recent interview with Esquire UK, the Girl, Interrupted star said that what she thought was a once-in-a-lifetime role that would bolster her status and career actually ushered in a lot of bullying at school.
“I remember thinking that it was going to, like, change my status, and it made it worse,” Ryder told the publication. “They were like, ‘You’re a witch! You’re a freak!’ It amplified it. I was like, ‘But I’m in a movie!’"
Ryder was just 15 when she began shooting the movie, and 16 years old when the film hit theaters. The actress went on to tell the publication that to potentially make matters worse, back in the late 80s she was "very much" like her character—quintessential emo, goth girl Lydia Deetz—in real life.
“They didn’t have to do much with me,” Ryder explained, referring to the cast and crew. “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.”
Winona Ryder in 'Beetlejuice.'
While Ryder received some unwanted attention at school as a result of the film, she went on to explain that working with superstars Michael Keaton, Catherine O'Hara and legendary director Tim Burton was nothing short of a dream.
"Michael was so gentle with me. And Catherine,” Ryder explained. “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.”
The actress went on to say that filming the original was also the "first time I ever felt like I collaborated on a movie."
"And I really had a connection with Tim," she continued. "I remember going on to other movies and it was not like that. People weren't so kind. It was much rougher."
Ryder now stars in the sequel to the film, aptly named Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, alongside rising star Jenna Ortega as well as Willem Defoe, Justin Theroux, and returning stars O'Hara and Keaton.
"One of my favorite parts was getting to stare into your eyes again,” Ryder told Keaton during the film's first press screening.
