Winona Ryder Was Begged to Turn Down an Iconic Role

Which role did Winona Ryder’s agent beg her not to take, years before her star turn in Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice with Jenna Ortega? Like, literally down-on-one-knee style pleading? If you guessed the music video for Mojo Nixon’s “Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child,” you guessed wrong.

The role Ryder was begged not to take that of Veronica Sawyer in the movie Heathers.

This was one of many juicy nuggets Ryder revealed in an Harper’s Bazaar All About Me interview alongside her Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice co-star Jenna Ortega. Ryder also touched on the audition process for Heathers, which was arduous to say the least.

“I wasn’t pretty enough,” says Ryder. “I had to go across the street to the Beverly Center and to the Macy’s counter. I had them do a makeover on me.” The independent black comedy teen flick was a box office failure, but it didn’t take too long to achieve cult status.

The joint interview between Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega was charming, and had a handful of other great revelations about each actress, including:

• Ortega actually learned to play the cello for her role in Wednesday. “We’re shooting the second season right now. I think it was maybe two weeks ago I pulled my hair out for a cello piece.”
• Ryder showed up to record a voice role on The Simpsons (The season six classic “Lisa’s Rival.”), hoping to meet the voice cast. She quickly discovered that she’d be recording alone. “I was so excited, I thought everyone was going to be there. And nobody was there!”
• Ortega made three McDonald’s commercials in three years. “I was a kid, and I was only allowed to audition for commercials my first year of acting.”

The interview highlighted the natural chemistry between both actresses. This may account for the positive reception of their film Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, which is currently out in theaters.