Winona Ryder Recalls Jeff Bridges Refusing to Kiss Her During an Audition Because of 21 Year Age Gap

On the latest episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, Winona Ryder revealed that Jeff Bridges once refused to kiss her during an audition because of their 21-year age gap.

The Beetlejuice and Stranger Things actress, 52, was asked about some of the projects she auditioned for in the '90s that she ultimately didn't get, which includes The Hudsucker Proxy and Fight Club. She spoke about how much she wanted to work with the Coen Brothers on Hudsucker, but recalled her experience auditioning for the 1993 drama film Fearless.

"I remember that audition, it was around the same time I think... Jeff Bridges, who I love, wouldn't kiss me because I was like too young," she shared. "At the end of the scene he was supposed to kiss me... He kissed my forehead, and he's like, 'You're, like, my daughter's age, you know?' And I was like, 'No, no!'"

At the time of the production of Fearless, Ryder was 21 years old, while Bridges was approximately 43 years old. Bridges, now 74, shares three daughters with his wife of 47 years, Susan Bridges. His eldest daughter, Isabelle, is 43. It's unclear who Winona Ryder was auditioning to play in Fearless, in which Bridges starred opposite Isabella Rossellini, 72. Early in her career, Ryder started dating Johnny Depp when she was just 18 and he was 26.

Ryder didn't land the role in Fearless, but she did appear in The Age of Innocence the same year, for which she was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The following year, she received a nomination for Best Actress for Little Women.