Winona Ryder talks losing major role due to media backlash

Winona Ryder reflects on lost opportunities due to negative media attention at the peak of her career in a recent interview.

One of the losses the Lost Souls actress had to face was the role of Clementine in Charlie Kaufman’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. 

Ryder, 52, revealed that the role was offered to her before finally going to Kate Winslet.

“It was such a brilliant script and [director Michel Gondry and I] were at this little restaurant and people kept coming up to me and there was a random paparazzi guy outside, which was kind of unusual for me, but I just remember [Gondry’s] face, and trying to convince him that this isn’t normal, and I know it’s not normal,” she revealed in a recent interview with Esquire.

“There was baggage,” Ryder added. “Trying to convince someone to ignore the noise around me was tough. I saw it in their eyes. I lost a lot of parts because of that.”

The Black Swan actress went on to recount plenty of lost opportunities due to the media trial around her shoplifting incident, personal life, romantic relationships, and mental health.

Ryder also expressed that she was discouraged to return to Hollywood since she was "drilled" with the phrase, “If you take a break, you can’t come back.” 

However, the actress eventually made her comeback with Stranger Things as Joyce Byers in 2016.