Winona Ryder names her favourite actor: “He took the riskiest parts”
Every actor has someone they look up to for inspiration, whether that be a classic star like Katharine Hepburn or Marlon Brando or perhaps someone a little more modern, such as Heath Ledger or Natalie Portman. Acting can often seem impossible, with complex characters testing a performer’s patience and stamina, but the reminder that iconic roles from cinema history have been the product of intense dedication and hard work surely helps to motivate in times of difficulty.
For Winona Ryder, she has found acting inspiration from a variety of actors, some much more well-known than others. By keeping certain performances in the back of her mind, she is reminded of the potential that acting has to tell enduring and life-altering stories, which she tries to channel into her own work.
Ryder emerged under the spotlight as a teenager, quickly taking to slightly off-beat films such as Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. She gave a terrific performance in the dark comedy satire Heathers, too, playing a high-schooler fed up with the popular clique, leading her to take matters into her own (and her boyfriend’s) hands, to disastrous consequences.
The actor seems to be drawn to parts that are a little unconventional or daring—she also portrayed a teenager in a psychiatric facility in Girl, Interrupted and Cher’s devoutly religious daughter in Mermaids. One of her greatest strengths seems to be her ability to blend drama and comedy effortlessly. One minute, Ryder can go from intense and emotionally demanding, the next she can drop in a light-hearted joke. She’s never been afraid of taking on a part that others might find a little unusual or challenging, and she has always been able to pull these decisions off.
For inspiration, she looks to a certain Hollywood actor who starred in some classics, from Sabrina and Picnic to Network and Stalag 17. “I’m also a huge fan of William Holden and the choices he made. He took the riskiest parts,” she told AnOther, adding, “Sunset Boulevard, for instance, in which he plays a kind of male prostitute. He’s also the anti-hero in The Bridge on the River Kwai. There is a great scene at the end of that movie, when Alec Guinness is pulling the cord, and you see William Holden’s face. I watched it with [Martin] Scorsese and Jay Cox, and we all agreed that the close-up of William Holden saying ‘kill him’ is one of the best moments in cinema. The pleading in his eyes is mesmerising.”
Holden earned three Oscar nominations in his time, the first being for Sunset Boulevard, a classic Billy Wilder movie about Hollywood that stands as one of the greatest dark comedies ever made. He starred as Joe Gillis alongside Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, with the latter pulling Joe, a screenwriter hoping to make it big, into her twisted world. While he missed out on the Academy Award for the role, he won for Stalag 17, also directed by Wilder.
You might not have guessed that Ryder would pick Holden as her favourite actor, but clearly, she can recognise a daring quality in him that she strongly resonates with.
