Winona Ryder grateful for being a ‘weirdo’ in Hollywood: Actress alludes to Me Too movement and praises her unique identity

Winona Ryder has admitted she felt ‘lucky’ to have been considered a ‘weirdo’ while growing up in the film industry, as she reflected on the Me Too movement in a new interview.  

The actress, 52, was just 15 years old when she landed her first big film role in the film Lucas, before being catapulted to stardom aged 16 after starring in 1988’s Beetlejuice – a role which she’s recently reprised for the movie’s long-awaited sequel.  

And speaking in a new interview with AnOther, in which she wows in gothic black ensembles, Winona shared that she believed that her identity ‘protected’ her in a way from any unwanted attention in the industry.  

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She said: ‘With everything that’s happened in the past six years, it takes remembering something and thinking about it happening to someone of the same age you were, like Jenna [Ortega] or Sadie [Sink], and it’s like, ‘Five-alarm fire, not OK!’  

‘Because everything back then was always, “You’re so sensitive, he’s just kidding. Get a sense of humour.” I always felt lucky that I was considered kind of a weirdo for enough time … I was still around really inappropriate behaviour. But I felt like my identity protected me in a way.  

Winona Ryder has admitted she felt ‘lucky’ to have been considered a ‘weirdo’ while growing up in the film industry, as she reflected on the Me Too movement in a new interview

The actress, 52, was just 15 years old when she landed her first big film role in the film Lucas, before being catapulted to stardom aged 16 after starring in 1988’s Beetlejuice [pictured with Michael Keaton] – a role which she’s recently reprised for the movie’s long-awaited sequel

Speaking in a new interview with AnOther , in which she wows in gothic black ensembles, Winona shared that she believed that her identity ‘protected’ her in a way 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 accusations which first came to light in 2017. 

During the chat, Winona recalled staying with three young actress in their twenties while filming 1988 movie Heathers, telling how she witnessed some ‘really humiliating stuff’ that was ‘not OK at all’, adding that the ‘lines were so blurry’ in the 80s.

The Stranger Things star added that working with kids who were the same age as he as she navigated the industry in the 80s made her realise how ‘unregulated it was’, with the thespian noting that she ‘never had an HR meeting until #MeToo!’ 

The star went on to say that her ‘heart breaks’ for the ‘kids who weren’t protected’ in the industry, noting that her parents reluctance to allow her relocate to Hollywood somehow shield 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 Judy Garland’s tragedy, and we never relocated there. 

‘That turned out to be such a gift, because I knew a lot of kids who did bear that. They relocated and were supporting their whole family, and it didn’t turn out so great. I knew a lot of kids who got burnout.’

With everything that’s happened in the past six years, it takes remembering something and thinking about it happening to someone of the same age you were, like Jenna [Ortega] or Sadie [Sink], and it’s like, ‘Five-alarm fire, not OK!’

‘Everything back then was always, “You’re so sensitive, he’s just kidding. Get a sense of humour.” I always felt lucky that I was considered kind of a weirdo for enough time … I was still around really inappropriate behaviour’ [Winona pictured in her first big film role in 1986’s Lucas, aged 15]

The star went on to say that her ‘heart breaks’ for the ‘kids who weren’t protected’ in the industry, noting that her parents reluctance to allow her relocate to Hollywood somehow shield 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 Judy Garland’s tragedy, and we never relocated there’

‘That turned out to be such a gift, because I knew a lot of kids who did bear that. They relocated and were supporting their whole family, and it didn’t turn out so great. I knew a lot of kids who got burnout’

Winona started her acting career as a teenager back in the mid 1980s, though she isn’t too pleased with the current generation of her teenage co-stars.

The 52-year-old actress was just 15 when she made her feature-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 frustrated with some of her younger co-stars of late.

‘I don’t mean to sound so hopeless. There are a few that are just not interested in movies. Like, the first thing they say is, “How long is it?”‘ Ryder revealed.

She wouldn’t identify any specific cast members who shared this feeling, though she did single out a younger kindred spirit.

Her Stranger Things co-star Finn Wolfhard is reportedly, ‘obsessed with Elliot Gould,’ though it seems many of other younger co-stars don’t have the same passion for film.

Winona started her acting career as a teenager back in the mid 1980s, though she isn’t too pleased with the current generation of her teenage co-stars (pictured with Jenna Ortega)

Ryder also spoke with Esquire, where she admitted, ‘I’ve gone from being the youngest person on set to being the oldest.’

‘I just think that social media has changed everything, and I know I sound old. I’m very aware of that,’ Ryder admitted.

‘And part of me thinks, “Gosh, am I like vaudeville at this point?” Like (elderly lady voice), “Hey, kids, turn down the music!”‘ she joked.

‘But I just think there was such an abundance: the history of film, the history of photography, it’s so rich, and there’s so much there, and I don’t mean we should go backwards, but I wish and I hope that the younger generation will study that,’ she added.