Mr. Deeds interview
Winona, let's get all the nonsense out of the way. Are you or are you not... dating Al Pacino?
(Laughs) Al is a good friend of mine. We first worked on LOOKING FOR RICHARD several years ago and we've stayed pretty close ever since. He's an amazing actor and a brilliant man and it was so much fun being able to work on SIMONE together. Even though there is a gap between our ages, I find him very attractive and it's wonderful for me to have a great friend like that in my life. But we're not a couple in the romantic sense.
Now that you're into your thirties, do you feel that this serves as a symbolic point at which to shift gears in your career or otherwise play different kinds of roles?
I haven't really looked at it that way. I think in the last few years I've been able to play older and different kinds of women simply because I don't look as baby-faced as I used to. It's also a question of finding good material and interesting roles. I'm not the only actress out there, and good parts just don't fall into your lap that easily. But I like most of the films I've made recently and so I'm pretty positive about the future.
Autumn in New York was not exactly hailed as a classic?
I know. But there was so much criticism which came out before the film was released that it never had a chance to get fair media coverage. It was publicly slaughtered yet the film still did pretty well at the box-office considering the bad press. It's an indication of how cynical our society has become that any kind of love story with a sad theme is automatically ridiculed as sentimental junk.
Is remaking Mr. Deeds a risk, in the sense that this is a very sentimental and nostalgic kind of story?
I don't think so. I think Adam Sandler is a wonderful actor and he brings his own gentle decency to the part. He's trying to take his career in different directions as well, and it's probably a bigger risk for him but at least you have to give him credit for trying. I describe him as a very good man, a man with noble instincts, and so he's perfect for the role.
Why did you want to do this movie?
I love good family
films. I think in the context of Sept. 11 it's important that these
kinds of movies are made and reach an audience. There is so much
ugliness in the world that we shouldn't be afraid to make films which
speak about basic virtues and principles of goodness.
There is so much violence and unhappiness that gets thrown at us every
day in the news that it has to have some kind of negative affect on
people. We can't just allow ourselves to get swamped by those things.
So remaking a movie like Mr. Deeds Goes to Town is a really positive
statement and I'm so happy I made it in light of what happened after we
made it.
You began your career working throughout your teenage years. How do you feel that experience affected you?
I have this sense that I didn't really start growing up until my twenties. I had a fairly unusual childhood anyway [Ryder spent her pre-teen years growing up on a commune with her very sixties-activist parents] and when I was going to public school most of the kids hated me and really resented my work in films. I was regarded as the school freak which further reinforced a lot of inhibitions and doubts I had about myself. I was a shy, frightened teenager for a long time.
How do you overcome that?
You try to get out
there and live. I've always had good friends who've been very supportive
and help make me feel good and grounded because I've never felt
attached to the film industry. I don't hang out with agents and
producers and I'm not into the business side at all. I've always kept my
distance from the business in that sense and acting is the only thing I
care about because it's my career and I enjoy that side of the film
business.
But I've always felt a need to have a life which is completely separate
- at least as far as possible - from the kind of illusory lifestyle
that comes with being a celebrity.
The press has always had a field day speculating on the men in your life, particularly after your high-profile romance with Johnny Depp?
That's an aspect of
this business which can be very frustrating and aggravating. Most of
what is written about you is wrong and so much of what does get printed
is often about personal things that you don't want to have other people
read about. I don't think anyone would ever enjoy having their friends,
let alone the public at large, read about how a love affair ended
badly. You're not happy to begin with, and you're certainly not going
to feel better when you read about whom you've just broken up with or
who dumped who in the relationship.
It's part of the celebrity process but my life has never been as
interesting or as wild as what's been printed about me.
Have you ever felt that your fame was intruding on your life or your ability to live your life apart from your celebrity image?
It's always intruding
on your life in some way and that's something I've found difficult to
adjust to. Everybody thinks that the money you earn means that you
should just shut up and accept the loss of privacy as a given. In one
way, alright, you know what the business is like and you shouldn't
complain about that aspect of it.
But it doesn't mean you don't have to deal with the consequences of
your celebrity. Weird people follow you in the streets, you can't sit
alone in a restaurant or a café and read a book in peace, and I think
everybody values those moments of being alone.
Money doesn't matter on a deeply personal level. It doesn't make you
feel any happier. But of course I am very aware that I don't have to
worry about earning a living or about those very important practical
things that most people have to worry about on a very real level.
It's just people should realize that the celebrity aspect of being an
actor is very rarely enjoyable for people like me who would always
rather go unnoticed and disappear into the crowd. Remember, I'm the
kind of kid who used to get stuffed into a locker by school bullies.
I've never felt like I'm a big star at any level of my life.
You've dated several musicians as well as actors. Are you a big music fan?
Yes. My dad took me to all the best rock and punk shows when I was growing up and music has always been a part of my life. So I'm very interested in the music scene and I suppose that's why I've ended up going out with musicians. Dave Pirner is still one of my best friends.
Do you have any speculations on why you haven't found the right man?
I think so much has
to do with not being completely settled in my own life and also being
with people who have also not been in the right place to maintain a
relationship. I think there is this misimpression that I've had this
wild love life and that isn't the case at all.
I'm still friends with most of the men I've had relationships with and
very rarely have my breakups been particularly angry or recriminatory.
Do you feel that your attitude towards life or the way you live it has changed significantly in recent years?
I think it has. I think I'm learning to be bolder in my career choices and be more confident in my personal life. I haven't always felt very secure as an individual, but now I feel I certain confidence and sense of self that gets me through the day a lot better than before. You've got to grow up sometime.
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Pictures
all pics were taken at the Manchurian
Candidate premiere
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