Winona Ryder on Why Parents Refused to Relocate Her to L.A. as a Child: They Were “Wary of Hollywood”

Winona Ryder is looking back at how her parents tried to protect her from Hollywood as a child actor.

The actress, who made her feature-film debut in 1986’s Lucas at just 15 years old, shared in a recent interview with AnOther Magazine that instead of relocating to Los Angles, her parents chose to drive seven hours from San Francisco to L.A. each time she got an audition.

She added that school was also a priority in her family, which meant she “had to keep up my grades” to be allowed to go on auditions.

“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 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.” 

The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice actress said she later heard that she “had this reputation for being really choosy” with projects, “when in actuality we just couldn’t afford to go.”

But one audition she made sure not to miss was for Tim Burton‘s 1988 Beetlejuice film, which ultimately ended up being her breakout role as Lydia Deetz.

“Beetlejuice was so unusual — I zoned in on Lydia,” Ryder said of her audition. “I remember I made my mom wait in the car because I wanted to do it alone.”

The actress even recalled her first encounter with the legendary filmmaker that day, which didn’t necessarily go as expected. “I was waiting in a side office of this Culver City studio when a young guy came in — I figured he was from the art department,” she recounted. “We started talking about old movies and Edward Gorey’s art, and discovered we had this mutual affinity for the actor Peter Lorre. And then I was like, ‘Do you know when Tim Burton is going to show up?’ He said, ‘Oh, that’s me.’ I had no idea directors could be like this cool young person. I said, ‘God I’m sorry, do you want me to read?’ He said, ‘No, I want you to do it.’”

And the rest is history, as Ryder went on to cement her name in Hollywood as well as collaborate with Burton on additional films, including Edward Scissorhands, Frankenweenie and the upcoming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.