Winona Ryder reveals why Jeff Bridges refused to kiss her during ‘Fearless’ audition

Never been kissed by Jeff Bridges.

Winona Ryder, 52, revealed on Josh Horowitz’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that Bridges, 74, refused to lock lips with the “Stranger Things” star when they were auditioning for the 1993 drama film “Fearless.”

And Bridges did that for all the right reasons.

Winona Ryder on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. Josh Horowitz/Youtube
Winona Ryder on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. Josh Horowitz/Youtube

“Jeff Bridges, who I love, wouldn’t kiss me because I was, like, too young,” Ryder said on the podcast episode released Monday.

“At the end of the scene he was supposed to kiss me and I was like…,” Ryder continued, mimicking herself preparing to smooch Bridges.

“And he, like, he kissed my forehead,” she recalled. “He’s like, ‘You’re, like, my daughter’s age.’ And I was like, ‘No!’ “

Jeff Bridges at D23 on August 9, 2024. Getty Images for Disney
Jeff Bridges at D23 on August 9, 2024. Getty Images for Disney
Jeff Bridges in “Fearless.” ?Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Jeff Bridges in “Fearless.” ?Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Bridges was 43 when he starred in “Fearless.” Ryder, who was 21 at the time, did not land a role in the film.

The movie, directed by Peter Weir and based on a novel written by Rafael Yglesias, follows a man named Max (Bridges) who experiences radical changes to his personality after surviving a plane crash.

Isabella Rossellini, Rosie Perez, Tom Hulce, John Turturro and Benicio del Toro also star in the film.

Isabella Rossellini, Jeff Bridges in “Fearless.” ?Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Isabella Rossellini, Jeff Bridges in “Fearless.” ?Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Perez, 59, who was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance, revealed earlier this year at the Chaplin Award Tribute Gala honoring Bridges that the “Crazy Heart” actor helped her get her part in “Fearless.”

She recalled that the studio “had a problem” with her and Bridges’ “interracial relationship” in the movie and she feared she wouldn’t get the role — until Bridges went “to bat” for her.

Rosie Perez at the CAA New York Party on June 14, 2024. Getty Images for CAA
Rosie Perez at the CAA New York Party on June 14, 2024. Getty Images for CAA

“Jeff wanted me to play the part. Well, you never hear that,” Perez said. “You never hear an actor of his caliber going to bat for someone who still is fairly kind of new and regulated only to certain type of parts.

“He just gave me so much confidence,” she added about Bridges. “I went in, again, and they offered me the part.”

While Ryder missed out on being in “Fearless,” that same year she starred in “The Age of Innocence,” which was huge for Ryder’s career, earning the actress her first Oscar nomination.

Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder in “The Age of Innocence.” ?Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder in “The Age of Innocence.” ?Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Winona Ryder in “The Age of Innocence.” ?Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection
Winona Ryder in “The Age of Innocence.” ?Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection

“I feel like that was sort of my graduation too, because when you’re a teen actor and a kid, you’re always hearing about the transition into adult roles and how it’s impossible,” she said about the Martin Scorsese-directed film on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast.

Winona Ryder at McCabe’s Guitar Store in 1993. FilmMagic, Inc
Winona Ryder at McCabe’s Guitar Store in 1993. FilmMagic, Inc

“And then you’re either a daughter — or you’re too young to be the DA or even the rookie cop,” Ryder noted, adding, “I feel like ‘Age of Innocence’ really was huge.”

Another one of Ryder’s iconic movies from early in her career was “Beetlejuice.” She’s reprising her role as Lydia Deetz in the sequel to Tim Burton’s film, which comes out in theaters Friday.