Why Winona Ryder dropped out

Winona Ryder has taken a step back from Hollywood, says Stephen Mooallem in Interview. She’s been in the movies since she was 15, and in the 1990s her roles in Heathers, Edward Scissorhands, and The Age of Innocence made her one of the most admired actors in show business. But after her widely publicized 2001 arrest for shoplifting, Ryder stopped taking major film roles. “It wasn’t like a breakdown, but I had to just stop and take care of myself. I was struggling,” she says. “I never went out. I was just terrified and exhausted. I approached work very seriously, and it just got to be too much for me. I just felt like I really wanted to hold on to who I was and try to have as much a normal life as I could.” Today Ryder, 38, focuses on smaller, more independent films, writes almost daily, and avoids places where the paparazzi gather. She worries about young actresses intoxicated with early success. “I know how they’re feeling. They think it’s going to be like this forever, so they’re not being more careful. But I’ve been doing this for a quarter-century now. I remember when so many people were the No. 1 star at the box office. And I’ve also seen so many people crash and burn.”

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