“They thought it was making fun of teen suicide,” the actress says.

Winona Ryder says she lost out on a movie with Marlon Brando because of Heathers: ‘They were deeply offended’

"They thought it was making fun of teen suicide," the actress says.

By Jessica Wang

Jessica is a staff writer at , where she covers TV, movies, and pop culture. Her work has appeared in Bustle, NYLON, Cosmopolitan, InStyle, and more. She lives in California with her dog.

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Published on July 24, 2025 06:16PM EDT

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Winona Ryder and Christian Slater in 'Heathers'. Credit:

New World Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

What's your damage, Hollywood?

Winona Ryder said she lost out on a movie with Marlon Brando because of her role in the subversive 1989 comedy *Heathers*, now regarded as a cult classic. In a new profile for *Elle UK*, Ryder recounted how she was told that she would "never work again" if she took on the role of Veronica Sawyers. And "I did lose a job," she said.

After some prodding, Ryder revealed the role was for *The Freshman*, the 1990 crime comedy that also starred Matthew Broderick, as a naive film school student who accepts a job with Brando's mobster. Ryder said she already landed the role — then, the filmmakers saw *Heathers.* "They thought it was making fun of teen suicide," she said. "They were deeply offended and, yeah, they revoked the offer."**

Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick in 'The Freshman'.

TriStar Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

"I’m like, “I can’t work with Marlon Brando?” Ryder recalled, adding that she stood firmly by her work. "I had to stand my ground. I wasn’t gonna apologize."**

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The dark comedy centered on Ryder's Veronica, who is part of a clique of popular mean girls — all named Heather — at her high school, though she does not approve of their cruel behavior towards others. Veronica discovers that her new boyfriend, J.D. (Christian Slater), is intentionally killing students he doesn't like, including clique leader Heather Chandler (Kim Walker), who was not-so-accidentally poisoned; her death was staged to appear as a suicide. The late Shannen Doherty also starred as new clique leader Heather Duke.**

Winona Ryder at a London photocall for 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' in August 2024.

Mike Marsland/WireImage

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Ryder revealed last year, in a video interview for *Harper's Bazaar* alongside her *Beetlejuice Beetlejuice* costar Jenna Ortega, that her agent implored her not to do the film. "My agent at the time literally got down on her knees," she said. "She’s like, ‘Please, you’re gonna destroy any chance of a career.'" And yet, "I think I made the right call," Ryder said.

In a retrospective for the film's 30th anniversary in 2019, producer Denise Di Novi told *Variety *"everybody thought we were crazy to make the movie.” She also praised Ryder for not taking the advice of her agent, calling the actress "so smart, very brave and unusual." Di Novi added, "She was this amazing 15-year-old, if you can believe it. Winona got obsessed with the script.”**

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Source: “AOL Movies”