Getting things started, we went right to asking Winona if she believed Kuklinski’s wife knew about his contract killing lifestyle:

Winona Ryder: I do. There wasn’t much research available on her that I was aware of. The research that was available was mainly the interviews with [Kuklinski] and the book, so in order to find anything out I’d have to get through hours of him talking about shooting people in the face and then just get a snippet about her. I wouldn’t say so much in the research said it, but I don’t see how anyone could be in a relationship for that long and be married, have kids, for that many years, in an era where people had offices and secretaries and he’s got just a beeper – there were too many things like that. My feeling, and this is just my personal feeling, is that she did know to a certain extent, but she was just in a very obviously deep state of denial, and to acknowledge it or ask the questions would have meant she would have had to bear some of the responsibility. She would have had to leave.

I think in a way she liked her life. She liked nice things. She like how she was living.

It’s interesting because you hear a lot about actresses talking about strong roles for women, and I actually think sometimes playing weaker people can be just as interesting and challenging. I think in a way there was a little bit of denial, but also she just didn’t have the courage. I think we’ve all dealt with denial to a certain extent, it’s very human, but this is to a level that’s mind-boggling to me.

Continue reading ‘We Got it Covered’ Interview With Winona Ryder

There was definitely some nervous apprehension on my part before meeting Winona Ryder — which, having done this sort of thing hundreds of times before, doesn’t happen often. This most likely stems from my preexisting notion that she’s shy or reserved — or, at the very least, media shy and reserved in front of the press. Soon after meeting the petite actor — who still doesn’t look all that different from the person who danced to Harry Belafonte’s “Jump in the Line” at the end of “Beetlejuice” — I discovered something that would have put my nervous mind at ease: Winona Ryder is, well … a bit of a nerd.

Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but she is a fan of the original “Star Trek” television series and used to have a life-size poster of Ellen Ripley on her wall.

Ryder’s new movie is “The Iceman,” the latest in a string of recent higher profile roles for the actress, following films as diverse as “Black Swan” and “Star Trek” (yes we’ll get to “Star Trek”). In “The Iceman,” Ryder plays Deborah Kuklinski, who is married to notorious mob killer Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) — only she’s not aware of that whole “mob killer” part.

In a conversation that lasted longer than planned, Ryder dove deep into her filmography to discuss everything from the 25th anniversary of “Beetlejuice” to two of her (somewhat surprising) favorite movie experiences: “Alien Resurrection” and, especially, Richard Linklater’s “A Scanner Darkly” (Ryder’s return to acting after a time spent more in tabloids, not movies). If you take one thing away from this interview, it’s that Ryder really loves “A Scanner Darkly.”

I feel like you’ve been getting a lot of good roles lately, like the one in “The Iceman.”
Yeah …

Are you picky?
Well, I mean, who knows, really? I think there was a time when — and every actor will tell you — there’s a time when you’re sort of at the height of everything and people will tell you that you’re offered everything. You’re kind of under that impression. And then, years later, you find out maybe not. Or that they offered you something that you never even got told about.
Continue reading Winona Ryder, ‘The Iceman’ Star, Is A Lot Nerdier Than You Think