Winona Ryder recalls stalker extra

Winona Ryder had a "really nice" stalker.

The ‘Stranger Things’ actress found a guy who regularly appeared in her movies as an extra "really creepy", but when she reported him to her director, the man insisted he was "not even obsessed" with her any more as he had moved on to another star, Alyssa Milano.

Asked if she’d ever had a stalker, she said: "Yeah. I did. I had a few. One was really nice. He kept showing up as an extra on movies, and you don’t know. You have to be careful. So I told the director, because he was kinda creepy. And I got this letter in my trailer the next day that was like, ‘I was just trying to get work as an extra! Just so you know, I’m not even obsessed with you anymore, I’m obsessed with Alyssa Milano now!’ So he kind of left me for Alyssa Milano."

The 44-year-old actress admitted she has been verbally abused by fans when she declined their request for a picture.

She told New York magazine: "I’ve been called a **** to my face by someone who was just saying they were a fan. I was with my parents having dinner. It was actually kind of upsetting, because it upset my parents, and then I got upset. You know that scene in ‘The King of Comedy’ where Jerry Lewis is at a pay phone? ‘Will you sign the thing, will you sign the thing?’ ‘I hope you get cancer!’ "

Winona insists she has no idea how social media works but is thankful she doesn’t have a presence on the likes of Twitter or Instagram as it protects her from online abuse.

She said: "I’m not on social media. I don’t actually know how to use it. And I hear that awful people could then… I say that, and it makes me sound too sensitive."