Winona Ryder looks back on how her parents tried to shield her from Hollywood when she was a child and just starting out in acting.
The actress, who made her film debut in 1986, Luca at just 15 years old, he said in a recent interview Another magazine that instead of moving to Los Angeles, her parents chose to drive seven hours from San Francisco to Los Angeles every time she got an audition.
She added that school was also a priority for her family, which meant she “had to maintain good grades” in order to audition.
“I couldn't work if it coincided with school,” Ryder explained. “My parents, who are just my best friends, were very wary of Hollywood. They associated it with the Judy Garland tragedy and we never moved there. It turned out to be a real gift, because I knew a lot of kids who endured it. They moved and supported the whole family and it didn't go so well. I knew a lot of kids who had nervous breakdowns.”
THE Beetle Juice Beetle Juice The actress said she later heard that she had “a reputation for being very picky” with projects, “when in reality we couldn't afford them.”
But one audition she made sure not to miss was for Tim Burton's 1988 film Beetle Juice film, which ultimately proved to be her breakthrough role: Lydia Deetz.
“Beetle Juice it was so unusual — I was focused on Lydia,” Ryder said of her audition. “I remember making my mom wait in the car because I wanted to do it alone.”
The actress even recalled her first meeting with the legendary director that day, which didn’t necessarily go as planned. “I was waiting in a side office at this studio in Culver City and this guy came in, I thought he was from the art department,” she said. “We started talking about old movies and the art of Edward Gorey, and we discovered we had this mutual affinity for the actor Peter Lorre. And then I was like, ‘Do you know when Tim Burton’s coming?’ He was like, ‘Oh, that’s me.’ I had no idea directors could be like this cool young guy. I was like, ‘God, I’m sorry, do you want me to read it?’ He was like, ‘No, I want you to read it.’”
And the rest is history, as Ryder continued to cement her name in Hollywood and collaborate with Burton on other films including Edward Scissorhands, Frankenstein and the next one Beetle Juice Beetle Juice.