Winona Ryder recalls how she was cruelly branded a 'freak' and 'witch' by her high school peers when original Beetlejuice film came out in 1988 and she was just 17

Winona Ryder has opened up about her difficult experiences after starring in the original Beetlejuice film in 1988.

It's been 36 years since the world first experienced the film, and the unforgettable bio exorcist is set to haunt screens once more in the new long-awaited sequel to the cult-classic film.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is set to hit cinemas in a matter of days, with stars Michael Keaton, 72, Winona, 52, and Catherine O'Hara, 70, all returning to their iconic roles - while Tim Burton has also made a comeback to direct the movie.

Winona stars in the film as main lead Lydia Deetz and in a new interview for Esquire's autumn issue she reflected on her life after the first film.

She told how while she was still at high school and aged just 17 when it first came out.

Winona remarked: 'I remember thinking that it was going to, like, change my status, and it made it worse. 

'They were like, 'You're a witch! You're a freak!' It amplified it. I was like, 'But I'm in a movie!'

She added of getting to play the part of Lydia in the original Beetlejuice: 'I was very much like Lydia. They didn't have to do much with me. 

'My brother found a picture of me taken like a month before that audition. I'd dyed my hair blue-black, I had these crazy short bangs, and I dressed in black.'

She also told how the how experiences on set of the new film were wholly positive as she praised her co-star Michael for being 'so gentle with her'.

Winona said: 'Michael was so gentle with me. And Catherine O'Hara. They always included me. They were so kind and so thoughtful. It was unique because as a kid actor you don't always get that.

'It's about the adults. It truly was the first time I ever felt like I collaborated on a movie. And I really had a connection with Tim. I remember going on to other movies and it was not like that. People weren't so kind. It was much rougher.'

Winona Ryder, 52, got her big break in Beetlejuice and her career flourished in the 1990s.

The star is returning as Lydia Deetz for the upcoming sequel, with her character now being a mother to a teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega).

Lydia assumed she would never hear from the mischievous entity ever again - until her daughter comes across an advertisement for a 'Bio Exorcist' in their attack.

It is Astrid who ends up bringing Beetlejuice back by saying his name three times despite the stern warnings of her mother.

After a dramatic breakup with Johnny Depp and a shoplifting incident in the 2000s, she had a recent resurgence due to her role of Joyce Byers in Stranger Things.

After Beetlejuice, she starred in the cult classic Heathers (1988) and played Jerry Lee Lewis's cousin child bride Myra in Great Balls Of Fire (1989). 

Even after having four films under her belt and dating the likes of Rob Lowe in the mid-80s and Christian Slater around the time she filmed Heathers, she still wasn't widely accepted among her peers.

'When I get around people my own age, I'm a wreck. What they think of me is so much more important than what people in the industry think of me,' she told Vogue back in 1994.

'I think it's just facing my own insecurity. I was not accepted in high school, not in junior high school, not in elementary school. I was always picked on. I never had friends, except for one, Heather. 

'This is going to sound weird, but even after I got famous, kids weren't nicer to me. I mean I stayed in high school until I was a sophomore. I'd done four movies. I'd done Beetlejuice – it was a huge movie. But kids still threw food at me,' she concluded.

At that point, she left high school and started working on high-profile films with Hollywood's elite.

The autumn issue of Esquire UK is on sale now.