Winona Ryder reveals how ‘Heathers' damaged her career
In a new interview with Elle UK, the 'Stranger Things' star, 53, recalled how her role in the 1988 dark comedy teen film had a negative impact on her career.
'I was told I was never gonna work again if I did 'Heathers,'' she told the outlet, adding, 'I did lose a job.'
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7 Winona Ryder in 'Heathers.'
©New World Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Ryder revealed that she was dropped from the 1990 crime comedy 'The Freshman' because of 'Heathers.'
'They thought it was making fun of teen suicide,' she shared. 'They were deeply offended and, yeah, they revoked the offer.'
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'I'm like, 'I can't work with Marlon Brando?' she recounted. 'But I had to stand my ground. I wasn't gonna apologize.'
7 Winona Ryder at the 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' London photocall in Aug. 2024.
Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures
7 Marlon Brando in 'The Freshman.'
©TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Colle / Everett Collection
In 'Heathers,' Ryder played Veronica Sawyer, who is involved in her high school's mean girl clique. She becomes romantically involved with JD Dean (Christian Slater), who goes on a revenge tour by killing his classmates and staging their deaths as suicides.
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When asked if she still watches the cult classic also starring the late Shannen Doherty, Ryder replied: 'I never turn off 'Heathers' if it's on. I know it basically by heart.'
7 Winona Ryder, Christian Slater in 'Heathers.'
©New World Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Last year, Ryder spoke to Harper's Bazaar about the audition process for 'Heathers.'
'I wasn't considered pretty enough, so I went across the street to the Beverly Center, to the Macy's counter,' she recalled. 'They had them do a makeover on me. Then I went back and I was like, 'Please!'
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7 Shannen Doherty, Winona Ryder, Kim Walker in 'Heathers.'
©New World Pictures/Courtesy Everett Col / Everett Collection
7 Winona Ryder in 'Heathers.'
©New World Pictures/Courtesy Everett Col / Everett Collection
'But my agent at the time literally got down on her knees, she's like, 'Please, you're gonna destroy any chance of a career,'' Ryder explained. 'But I actually did lose a job right when it was coming out. I had been cast in a movie, and the director took great offense to it.
'I think I made the right call,' Ryder added.
In 2016, 'Heathers' director Michael Lehmann defended the film from claims that it mocks teen suicide.
7 Winona Ryder as Veronica Sawyer in 'Heathers.'
©New World Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
'The more horrifying or disturbing human behavior is, the more opportunity there is to mine it for certain types of comedy,' he told The Denver Post. 'You click it a few notches in one direction or another to make it absurd, and it allows to you to understand human behavior better, because people do horrible things with the best intentions.'
'Heathers' was a box office flop when it came out, but over time it has garnered a cult following. The film has been adapted into a 2018 TV reboot and a Broadway musical.
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