Hollywood veteran Winona Ryder started her acting career way too young. Rising to fame through her amazing performances in movies like Beetlejuice and Heathers, Ryder became a household name early on in her career. Although this turned her life around amazingly, as she grew up quite poor, the pressure inevitably took its toll on her.
In fact, it was so terrible at one point she ended up absolutely loathing the profession she was so passionate about. Although she is doing quite well these days after landing the role of Joyce Byers in Stranger Things, there was a rough patch in her life that made her abandon Hollywood completely for a few years.
Winona Ryder absolutely hated acting
Ryder made her debut in Hollywood in the 1986 movie Lucas at the tender age of 14. Although she was always more inclined towards becoming a writer when she was young, her parents’ insistence on her taking acting classes eventually made her fall in love with the craft.
Incidentally, this acting class was what led her to her first role in Hollywood. However, starting to work so early in her life had terrible consequences for her.
Winona Ryder admitted in an interview once, “I had had panic attacks from the age of 12 – probably from the pressure of working and then going through adolescence onscreen.” Her relationship and the consequent breakup with her Edward Scissorhands co-star Johnny Depp and her continuing to work tirelessly throughout the 90s absolutely did not help. As she noted,
“It was mainly exhaustion, but the anxiety attacks were getting worse, and I didn’t know what to do about them. I needed help, but I certainly didn’t find it in the place I went to,”
What made things worse was her being under public scrutiny at all times, as she admitted, “They’d be judging me: ‘Look at her shoes. I bet they cost $400.’” This was especially triggering for her because she spent her childhood in poverty. She elaborated,
“I know how nauseating it is when actors complain about their lives. We’re sickeningly well-paid people who have very charmed lives. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have problems.”
She explained more saying, “I grew up with no money – we lived without electricity, running water, or heating except for a stove.” And this is exactly why, she admitted, “For a long time I was ashamed of being an actress. I felt like it was a shallow occupation.”
Although her stint in the 1999 Girl, Interrupted helped her a little as reading the book the movie was adapted from made her realize that she wasn’t the only one having these thoughts, things eventually took a turn for the worst when she was arrested in 2001 for a shoplifting scandal.
Winona Ryder appreciates her place in Hollywood now
After her very public shoplifting incident that led to her arrest in 2001, Winona Ryder had to stop and reevaluate her life choices for quite a while. This made her take a long break from Hollywood spanning quite a few years although she was advised against it. She noted, “I was constantly being told, ‘You have to keep working so you stay relevant.'”
But, “It was really important for me to get out,” she added. However, what she didn’t realize at the time was how detrimental it could be to her career. And this fear was proven true when the Little Women star was ready to come back and did not receive the reception she hoped she would get.
However, Winona Ryder thinks that the break did help her a lot, as she mentioned, “A lot of actors have ups and downs. I think mine were—people might see them as awful—but I learned, and I appreciated the time away.” Now thankfully, she feels pretty settled in her career as she can finally act her age as she claimed.
The main reason according to her is, “I started acting so young, I secretly wanted to be older.” As a result, her current status and projects in Hollywood bring her a lot of joy. She admitted, “I’m finally getting to play my own age, and it’s liberating. I would not want to go back to playing the ingénue.”
Seeing her thrive feels amazing for her numerous fans as well, it seems. Especially with her being booked and busy with the upcoming horror comedy Haunted Mansion releasing in July and Beetlejuice 2 arriving next year.
Haunted Mansion is releasing on July 28th, 2023 while Beetlejuice 2 is set for a release date of September 6th, 2024.
Source: Showbiz CheatSheet
