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Winona Ryder said she felt an immediate, protective affection for Noah Schnapp and Charlie Heaton, the young actors playing her character Joyce Byers’s sons on Stranger Things. She also said she bonded with Millie Bobby Brown. Ryder was describing feelings toward her co-stars—not saying they were her real children or that she had a parental relationship with them outside the show.
What Winona Ryder said about her Stranger Things co-stars
In a 2016 interview report, Ryder described her feelings for Schnapp and Heaton as arriving suddenly and taking her by surprise. FanBolt quoted her as saying: “Honestly, I felt like Noah and Charlie were my kids. It was a bit alarming – it happened in an instant, almost like when my niece and nephew were born. It was like for the first time in my life I understood how you would jump in front of a bus for this little baby that you don’t even know yet.” (FanBolt, October 7, 2016)
Ryder also spoke warmly about Brown, who plays Eleven: “I also really bonded with Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven. It was great.” (FanBolt, October 7, 2016)
How the comments relate to Ryder’s role as Joyce
On the series, Ryder plays Joyce Byers, mother to Will and Jonathan. Her comments about Schnapp and Heaton describe the affection she felt while working with the actors who played Joyce’s sons. The wording “felt like my kids” is an expression of that bond, not a claim of literal parenthood.
#1 Best Overall
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What Ryder said about portraying a mother without children
In a separate 2016 interview, Ryder said she was often asked how she could act like a mother without having children. Entertainment Tonight reported her recalling the question as: “You don’t have kids, so how do you know how to act like a mother?”
Ryder answered by talking about her niece’s birth and her empathy for Joyce. As reported by Entertainment Tonight, August 8, 2016, she said: “I know nothing could compare, and I haven’t had that experience, but when my niece was born, I felt like I would jump in front of a car and die for this little person I didn’t even know yet.” She also discussed understanding Joyce’s difficult life and drawing on her empathy for mothers she knew.
Rank #2
The bus comparison in FanBolt’s account refers to Ryder’s bond with Schnapp and Heaton; the car comparison in Entertainment Tonight’s account appears in her separate remarks about her niece. They were reported in different contexts and should not be combined into one quotation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.These were remarks from 2016, not a current status update
Ryder’s comments were made during press interviews around the first season of Stranger Things. They describe what she said and felt then; they should not be read as a fresh statement about her current views or personal status. In a 2016 TIME interview, she also reflected on the internet’s risks as one factor in her ambivalence about having children. That was a personal thought expressed at the time, not a comprehensive explanation of her choices.
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Rank #4
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