Winona Ryder Dropped Out Of High School Following Homophobic Attack

Winona Ryder recently opened up about the incident that forced her to quit high school.

The actress sat down with the folks at V magazine to promote her upcoming action-thriller Homefront starring Jason Statham and James Franco. However, Ryder is getting more attention for the story she told regarding a homophobic attack she suffered years ago at the hands of several school bullies.

The Beetlejuice star told the publication:

“I was obsessed with [the film] Bugsy Malone and had cut my hair short. I remember the halls were empty and these kids started shouting ‘f*****,’ and I didn’t think they were talking to me. Walking home after leaving the nurse’s office — and I’ve never talked about this — I remember pressing on the bandage because I wanted it to look more dramatic.”

Winona Ryder said she pretended she was Humphrey Bogart during the high schol attack. She added that this was her way of coping with the incident.

She explained, “I was pretending I was in some gangster movie. It was oddly my way of dealing with it, because if I didn’t, I probably would have been really scared.”

After dropping out of high school, Winona Ryder began a homeschooling program. She later enrolled in at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Shortly thereafter, the actress landed a role in David Seltzer’s 1986 comedy Lucas starring Corey Haim.

Although she struggled to find work following the infamous shoplifting incident several years ago, Ryder is presently committed to getting her career back on track. In addition to Homefront, the actress appeared in the acclaimed drama The Iceman alongside acclaimed actor and Man of Steel alum Michael Shannon.

Ryder said of staying relevant in Hollywood:

“It used to be that you commit to something and then basically you spend your year doing that. Now there’s a constant conversation of how you have to keep working in order to remind people that you’re around. You have to work to be relevant. If you don’t then people will forget and the studios won’t want you because they won’t remember the last thing you did that made money.”

Check out the trailer for the action flick Homefront below.

Here’s the actress on the recent cover of V magazine.

Are you a fan of Winona Ryder? Do you plan to catch the actress in director Gary Fleder’s Homefront when it arrives in theaters on November 27?

[Top Image via ChinellatoPhoto / Shutterstock.com – Bottom Image via V Magazine]