Winona Ryder is back and on the cover of the December issue of BlackBook Magazine. The actress who was on every director’s wishlist took a bit of a sabbatical from movie making after some personal troubles and an arrest for shoplifting. After letting the scandal die down and getting herself together, she is quietly making movies again. Sitting down at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles here are some excerpts from her interview:

On Matt Damon and Johnny Depp: “Matt couldn’t be a greater, nicer guy. I’m really lucky that I’m on good terms with him. With Johnny, it’s like we’re good, but we lead very different lives… ”

On her relationship with the press: “This weird thing happens when you’re written about in magazines, where you start to think, This is who I am. This is how I have to be. I felt restricted and pressured into being the way people perceived me. It was hard for me to find my footing. The Johnny thing made me really afraid of the press because, even though it was about him, I was beside him the entire time.”

On Angelina Jolie who won the 1999 Academy Award for best supporting actress for Girl, Interrupted (Winona starred in and produced the film): “I never had any bad feelings about Angelina. And I was hurt that people thought that. Everyone assumed I was really jealous because I thought this would be my vehicle. We said from the very beginning that the actress who played Lisa would probably win an Oscar, because it was the big, great, showy part. But I always related to Susanna… I fought very hard for [Angelina] to have that part, and I never really felt like I got the chance to know her.”

On if Angelina ever personally thanked her for helping to jump-start her career: “I feel like it won’t read in print very nicely if I say that wasn’t really her style. But she seems to be a completely different person now.”

Winona Ryder has always been one of my favorite actresses. From Beetlejuice, Dracula, Heathers, Little Women, Girl Interrupted, Mermaids, Edward Scissorhands, Reality Bites, Mister Deeds and A Scanner Darkly among so many more, she has a knack for choosing interesting parts, directors and co-stars.

Her latest film, The Adventures Of Pippa Lee, opens in December and stars Keanu Reeves and Robin Wright Penn.

Even though she’s never really left, Welcome Back, Winona Ryder!

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