Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara on the Power of Being Weird
Like its iconic predecessor, 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' celebrates all things strange and unusual. Here, its three leading actors talk about why that matters.
Good things come in threes. This adage runs through my mind as I enter a New York City hotel room to see Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara staring back at me attentively. Gathered for a Beetlejuice Beetlejuice press day, they’re seated in generational order, their dark, edgy outfits creating a gradient tableau of grey to red. They are connoisseurs of coolness, idiosyncratic talents and experts at embracing the odd. Do they realize just how impactful their combined legacies are?
“I think everybody’s got something a little wrong about them,” Ortega tells me. “We’re all weird,” O’Hara adds. Then Ryder, in her signature otherworldly lilt, perhaps puts it best. “If anything, it should be a badge of honour, right?” After all, these three would know.
@fashionmagazine #BeetlejuiceBeetlejuice is coming — and it promises to be weird as ever. 🪲 At the link in bio, stars CatherineOHara, #JennaOrtega and #WinonaRyder reflect on the magic of the strangeandunusual. #DeliaDeetz #AstridDeetz #LydiaDeetz #beetlejuice #beetlejuicetiktok
At one point or another, Ortega, Ryder and O’Hara have each been branded by the “weird girl” label. Ortega’s rise to mainstream fame mirrored her morose magnetism as Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s Wednesday. Since the late ‘80s, Ryder has been a blueprint for alternative It girls everywhere, thanks to her sullen on-screen presence in classics like Girl, Interrupted. O’Hara’s flamboyant eccentricity and soapy sensibilities in treasured hits like Schitt’s Creek have cemented her as an overzealous on-screen legend. All have portrayed figures on the fringes with nuance, vulnerability and off-kilter charisma. What better project for them to come together than for the new Beetlejuice movie?
As a refresher, the 1988 campy horror follows the Deetz family, who move into the home of a deceased couple and are soon haunted by Michael Keaton’s titular trickster demon. O’Hara is the cartoonishly vain, scene-stealing wife Delia Deetz, who roams the redecorated rooms speaking in hyperboles while wearing exclusively black and white. Ryder is the dejected teen stepdaughter Lydia, who has a pixie goth aesthetic and an ability to see ghosts. In the original, the two don’t connect on any level. But in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, maternal relationships are front and centre. Their duelling dynamic has softened, and the generational theme is made stronger by the addition of Jenna Ortega as Astrid — Lydia’s sombre teen daughter who kind of hates her mom. All things considered, it’s the perfect way to pick the story back up.
In the first movie, Ryder’s Lydia was beloved for her embrace of the off-kilter. (“I myself am strange and unusual,” she famously murmurs.) Sure, it followed a mould-covered demon with a pervy sense of humour, but beyond that, Beetlejuice unlocked a universal truth about the alienation of growing up. Lydia’s weirdness is her superpower, it expands her awareness and allows her to see what others can’t. For Ryder, who had trouble fitting in, this eccentricity was more than an act. “With the first Beetlejuice, that’s how I dealt with the relentless bullying at my school,” she reflects. “I just ended up embracing it and becoming the ‘weird girl.’”
“Weird is original,” says Ortega. “Especially in a time like this, where everyone is starting to look the same and sound the same, [when] you’re only allowed to say or do certain things — it’s good to not conform.” O’Hara adds, “God forbid you have an original thought,” letting out an exacerbated sigh-turned-smile.
“Life is dark,” O’Hara says. “It’s hard to grow up, and it’s hard to be a grown-up. It’s hard to deal with life. But finding a way to laugh at the darkness is the best gift we could be given.”
That’s the beauty of Beetlejuice: it’s undoubtedly singular. The Tim Burton film exists in its own aesthetic world full of warped carpeting and blue-in-the-face receptionists. It’s a technicolour nightmare that never feels dated or irrelevant because of its unique kooky creativity. The sequel, naturally, reopens the portal to that realm.
True to the original, there is no CGI, only practical effects and stop-motion animation that evoke wonky nostalgia. Delia still has bright red hair and a two-toned wardrobe. Lydia’s macabre look lives on, with her even channelling that red wedding dress. Like its predecessor, the 2024 film’s darkened Dr. Seuss aesthetic, snappy comedy and frightening nonsense make it a highly watchable ride. Except this time, there’s a through-line of motherly love.
After a family tragedy brings Delia, Lydia and Astrid back together in the original haunted house, the story sees them deal with supernatural antics while bonding as a family. Though rough around the edges, their chemistry captures the complexity of mother-daughter dynamics. Perhaps it’s no surprise that for these three, this connection came easy.
“Don’t even get me started on this one,” Ryder gushes of her on-screen daughter, turning to face Ortega. “We had a very sacred bond that is still very much there, and I think will be there for the rest of our lives.” O’Hara, as the aloof image-obsessed stepmom in Beetlejuice, had established a more superficial rapport with Ryder’s Lydia, noting that she avoided looking her in the eye while shooting all those years ago. She tried to keep it up with the sequel, too, but as filming went on, her theatrical apathy thawed, giving way to a portrayal of genuine matriarchal care.
Together, Ortega, Ryder and O’Hara thrive in the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice universe. Not because they’ve been pigeonholed into these kinds of roles, but because they appreciate the power of plot lines that get a little strange.
Ortega explains: “What Tim [Burton] does so well is that his stories at surface level seem absurd and bizarre and kind of slimy sometimes,” — “And smelly!” O’Hara interjects — “But he’s always done an incredible job of creating characters that are relatable and have heart…It’s not just some visual art show. It’s got real meaning behind it.”
Paranormal troubles aside, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice finds the leading women facing real existential crises. Delia is dealing with a loss. Lydia struggles with substance abuse. Astrid feels utterly misunderstood. They’re all grappling with their identity and feeling a little off. But when it comes to telling stories, that’s right where these actors want to be.
“I love being misunderstood and having no control over the impression you’re making on others,” O’Hara laughs. “And [I love] being so delusional, because that’s what we are. That’s being a human.”
“I learned you just [have to] laugh at it,” Ortega says of getting into the gloomy underworld. “It’s such a dark topic; people often avoid thinking about stuff like that…it was really refreshing to see that visually, everything [is] awful, everyone is scary. But they’re still laughing and shrugging it off.”
“Life is dark,” O’Hara muses matter-of-factly. “It’s hard to grow up, and it’s hard to be a grown-up. It’s hard to deal with life. But finding a way to laugh at the darkness is the best gift we could be given.” Ryder goes a step further. “I think for me, there was a big ‘there’s love in death’ type of vibe,” she says.
Out September 6, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is yet another indication that Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara can bring a refreshing realness to the otherwise unusual. Ultimately, their stars shine bright because they’re not afraid of the dark.
