Why is Stranger Things' star Winona Ryder frustrated by younger actors? Here's what the actress had to say

Winona Ryder, the Stranger Things star, has been vocal about how much she wants to pass the love of movies down to her younger co-stars. The lack of curiosity about the history of film and cinema among younger co-stars has been a topic of frustration for the Edward Scissorhands actress.

While promoting her role in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the actress stated on the red carpet that she felt a noticeable change in her place on set, both generationally and culturally.

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“I’ve gone from being the youngest person on set to being the oldest.”

Ryder confessed to Esquire Magazine, describing how her perspective on the process of filming has shifted over time. In another 2024 interview, Ryder had said that she admires and is equally frustrated with younger actors.

Read on to know what exactly Ryder said about the way young actors are pursuing cinema.

Here is what Winona Ryder, the Stranger Things star, said about being disappointed by younger actors

Winona Ryder has expressed frustration with “some” younger actors, stating that they don’t have the same curiosity about cinema that led her down the path that is her career. While she does love chatting with film-obsessed collaborators, such as Stranger Things co-star Finn Wolfhard, who she says is ‘obsessed with Elliott Gould’, she also stated what she perceives as a disinterest in cinema from some other young performers.

While on the press tour for Beetlejuice, the actress elaborated on how many young actors she’s worked with who just aren’t that interested in watching movies or learning about film history, which she finds surprising and discouraging as a lifelong cinephile.

"I don’t mean to sound so hopeless. There are a few who are just not interested in movies. Like, the first thing they say is, ‘How long is it?’."

Ryder clarified that her exasperation is not with age, but attitude. She loves to work with young actors and is excited when young people discover old films and filmmakers. In another interview, Ryder has expressed appreciation for her Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice co-star Jenna Ortega and her love for cinema.

The Stranger Things star also acknowledged that it can be hard to get excited when that curiosity isn’t present, especially given that she’s made the transition from youngest to oldest person in the room. For Ryder, being passionate about films is not just a mere hobby, but an essential part of being an actor, and she wishes more young actors would explore the medium outside of their own work.

Eventually, she hesitantly also asserted how social media has changed content consumption to a great extent. Gone are the days when there was plenty of literature and history to gain information from. Ryder stated,

“I just think that social media has changed everything, and I know I sound old. I’m very aware of that. And part of me thinks, ‘Gosh, am I like vaudeville at this point?’ Like [elderly lady voice], ‘Hey, kids, turn down the music!’ But I just think there was such an abundance: the history of film, the history of photography, it’s so rich, and there’s so much there, and I don’t mean we should go backwards, but I wish, and I hope that the younger generation will study that.”

Winona Ryder stars as Joyce Byers in Stranger Things, one of the show’s key adult characters. Joyce is a single mother to Will and Jonathan Byers, who is fiercely protective and emotionally volatile, which often leads her to end up at the center of the series' mysteries.

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