Winona Ryder's agent 'begged' her not to star in Heathers

Winona Ryder's agent got down on her knees and "begged" her not to take the lead role in 1989's Heathers.

In the black comedy film, the Stranger Things actress played Veronica Sawyer, who becomes involved in her crush's plot to kill all the popular teens in school, particularly the three titular Heathers.

In a video for Harper's Bazaar, Ryder explained that her agent thought she would ruin her career with the "very subversive" film.

"My agent at the time literally got down on her knees, she's like, 'Please, you're gonna destroy any chance of a career,'" she recalled.

However, she acknowledged that her agent was right, as a director dropped her from their movie after seeing Heathers.

"I actually did lose a job right when it was coming out. I had been cast in a movie, and the director took great offence to it," she noted. "(But) I think I made the right call."

The Beetlejuice actress also remembered that she had her make-up done at Macy's for the audition because the casting directors didn't think she was pretty enough to be Veronica.

"I wasn't considered pretty enough, so I went across the street to the Beverly Center, to the Macy's counter. They had them do a makeover on me. Then I went back and I was like, 'Please!'" she shared.

Heathers, which also starred Shannen Doherty and Christian Slater, was a commercial flop upon its release but has since become a cult classic. A short-lived TV reboot aired in 2018 and a stage musical premiered off-Broadway in 2014.

Ryder can currently be seen in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which opened in cinemas on Friday.