Winona Ryder, one of my favorite quirky, super smart Hollywood actresses, is back as the mom in Netflix’s hit vintage-esque sci-fi show “Stranger Things.”
The show’s Twitter just released the retro-looking posts for the new season this week, and they are fabulous:
We’re going back to Hawkins. pic.twitter.com/WlC8x4G9MR
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) August 26, 2017
A place where the curiosity door never closes. pic.twitter.com/uDNwLnAnCf
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) August 26, 2017
Ryder’s portrayal of Joyce Byers, a single mom whose son Will goes missing, is so perfect in season 1, it’s almost hard to believe it’s not real. Her anxiety, vulnerability, but courageous strength, makes her a character that is hard to forget.
Director and producer Shawn Levy has called her performance “a mixture of euphoria and terror.” During one scene, Ryder apparently cried for “for 10 hours, she was depleting her liquids through her tears.”
When you discover the sweet spot 3 hits to the right. #StrangerThursdays pic.twitter.com/xtrpuEuXts
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) August 24, 2017
In a recent feature in Time, Ryder muses that she decided not to have kids, perhaps, because there’s a loss of control–despite what parents try to do, you can’t control everything your kid sees and does. “I do wonder sometimes if part of me didn’t want to have kids because it’s such a crazy world. You really can’t control what they see.”
When it comes to crying, which she apparently did a lot of on set, according to Levy, Ryder says it’s all genuine:
“I’m sort of old school in my approach to acting. Like, if I have to cry, I have to really cry. I’m allergic to the thing they use [to help actors cry] if you literally run out of tears. There are some people who can turn it on and turn it off or use this stuff, but I really have to go there mentally. Usually on a film there’s a couple of scenes, but this was my first time doing eight episodes of something, and let me tell you, crying all day.”
Now that Ryder is 45, an age where many women in Hollywood often see diminished roles, she had a lot to say about her own feelings about age and aging, all very refreshing:
“I started acting so young, I secretly wanted to be older. I know there’s a lot of conversations right now about ageism, and I know a lot of actresses who have a tough time, and I’ve gotten offered those mom parts. But you can make something of it. For me, I’m finally getting to play my own age, and it’s liberating. I would not want to go back to playing the ingénue.”
Since she’s someone who has been in the acting biz for a long time, it’s refreshing to hear her a positive spin. That being said, I would love to see Ryder in more roles in the coming years, aside from “Stranger Things,” which is awesome, but I would love a movie where she plays the main character, too!
Check out one of her best performances in the show below
https://youtu.be/_kn2e-bIlmE
