People don't realise how much tension they hold in their forearms.
— Winona Ryder
I would never give advice, because I would feel very presumptuous.
Honestly, if it wasn't for 'Beetlejuice,' where would I be? That movie was a big thing for me.
I definitely count my blessings. I feel like I've had such a great ride. Early on, to be able to work with some of the people I did, I feel really lucky.
It's like, sometimes I'll watch a movie, and it's got some big star in it playing a working-class person, and the character is in a grocery store, and you can kind of tell, from just watching the scene, that this actor doesn't do their own shopping. So you have to have some sense of reality.
Even though I never really had to pound the pavement as an actor, I always worked really hard. But, at the same time, I always felt like people thought that I didn't have to struggle even though I was struggling.
I'm part of the crew obsessed with 'The Wire.' Like, I'm not over that yet.
I've been embracing aging. I always have, since I was a kid. When you're the kid on the set for so long, you just, like, daydream about being older.
My favourite performances are by actresses like Bette Davis in 'All About Eve' or Gena Rowlands in pretty much anything - performances that have nothing to do with age.
Scorsese would talk to me about this movie 'The Heiress' with Olivia de Havilland. We were talking about this scene in it, and suddenly we were rolling. It was very intentional, and I didn't realize - because we talk old movies all the time.
I've always been fascinated with twins.
I'm just coming from a more personal - and, I guess, more nostalgic - point of view.
One of my worst fears is being a self-indulgent person.
I would not want to go back to playing the ingenue.
I did this little movie I really love called 'Experimenter,' but that took six years to get made and no money.
It's interesting because, even with 'Beetlejuice,' I was an awkward kid. I started at puberty and went through it on film. Lydia was one of my favorite roles because I related to her a lot.
I can see it in even great actors' performances, when they're phoning it in.
The description of my character in the first few movies I did was always 'nerdy,' but I liked that; it was way more interesting.
When I think about the stuff I've turned down or the stuff I wasn't interested in, I don't have any regrets. Yes, there were some movies that went on to be really popular. But now, how do they really fit into things?
I want to be a good friend, a good sister, a good person and a good actress.
What you wear - and it always starts with your shoes - determines what kind of character you are. A woman who wears high heels carries herself very different to a girl who wears sneakers or sandals. It really helps determine how you carry yourself.
My problems seemed so glamorous to other people, and everyone just thought I was so lucky. But then, I was lucky because my family was really there for me - San Francisco was a real refuge.
I would have to say 'The Crucible' stands out because it was one of the best experiences I've ever had, but, you know, Arthur Miller being present on the set - which was wonderful and incredible - but, to have him in your eye line is quite intimidating. It's such a beautiful language he created, so that was challenging but exciting.
Remember when you were a kid, and everyone used to say, 'Would you rather be interested or interesting?' And to me, it was always like, 'Interested!' How is that even a question? I feel very lucky that I'm just really, really interested in a lot of things.
In real life, and for women everywhere, no matter what their job is, your 30s and your 40s and beyond should be celebrated.
It was hard to find that transition to adult roles.
There are certain directors who will start talking to you about something, and suddenly you'll be ready to roll, and you'll realize it was very specific.
Usually, the roles that you get offered that are the mom roles are very much the mom role.
My home is San Francisco - that is definitely what I consider my home.
I did 'Beetlejuice,' and it was a big movie, but it didn't help my high-school experience. In fact, it made it worse. I was a freak and a witch.
I'm not someone like Norma Desmond who's harking back to her younger days.
I binge-watched this show 'Damages.' Glenn Close and Rose Byrne are so good. Lily Tomlin is in it. You see all these great actors, and the writing is terrific. There are a lot of shows like that.
On the set for 'Beetlejuice,' it was before people would go watch on monitors, and directors would be next to the camera.
There's a couple of times that I did it for the... paycheck. Even when I was younger - I remember I did this movie that wasn't good, called '1969.' I totally did it 'cause I could get out of school.
The 1980s was the era of the blonde cheerleader.
I remember a lot of conversations where I was constantly hearing, 'You've gotta do this movie so you can do that movie. You've gotta make a big movie so you can make a small movie.' But I can't act like that.
I was unusual looking - I didn't have the look of that time. If you look at 'Lucas' - and, basically, my first five or six movies - the characters are not described in the scripts as attractive people.
I feel a little stronger than people perceive me.
I approached work very seriously. I never went out. I couldn't fathom people who could go out to clubs... I mean, if I had a 6 A.M. call, I had to be prepared. I had to be in bed at a certain hour.
I don't have a director's mind.
Part of me feels like when you had a lot of success in your teens and 20s, it gets harder for you in your 30s because people are so attached to you as this ingenue. So even though you're older, they still think of you as that girl - that waifish young girl. And so it was sort of like a struggle.
As a teenager, I worked on Indian reservations, and it was such an incredible culture: the elders are so respected.
I don't have any interest in being a movie star.
The Duffers can be super articulate or very straight to the point. I was really impressed with how they were with each other.
Some people go to L.A. just to see recognizable people. There are tour buses. But in New York, everyone seems a little less into that.
I've always been super-private and protective of certain experiences and certain friends.
I'm getting asked a lot, 'You don't have kids, so how do you know how to act like a mother?' I know nothing could compare, and I haven't had that experience, but when my niece was born, I felt like I would jump in front of a car and die for this little person I didn't even know yet.
There was a time when all that mattered was that you were in a good movie.
I just did what I found interesting. I was so lucky that I was able to do that, especially in the '90s. I was really able to have a life to go back to.
With 'Ed Wood,' I sobbed. With 'Frankenweenie,' I was crying. With 'Edward Scissorhands,' I always cry. There's always an incredible amount of purity, even if they look a certain way.
