Winona Ryder has come out and credited director Tim Burton as the man who boosted her entire acting career, insisting that she knew she had met a kindred spirit when they hit it from right from their first meeting. It was Burton who was at the helm of the film that landed Ryder her big break as kooky teenager Lydia Deetz in the huge hit Beetlejuice in 1988; Ryder then went on to appear in Burton's Edward Scissorhands and is also involved in the filmmaker's latest project, Frankenweenie.

It's these roles, the star claims, that have ensured that her career has become a huge success. Talking to FlicksandBits.com, she said "I've known Tim Burton for 25 years, and I credit him with my career. I really mean that." Continuing, she added "(At the Beetlejuice audition) this guy came in and started talking about movies and music, and 25 minutes later I was like, 'When is this Tim Burton guy coming?' And he was like, 'That's me! And I was like, 'Oh!' I had no idea that a director could actually be so cool and I could easily hang out with them, you know?"

Ryder also said "Tim has always been a very special person to me, I love being around him, it never feels like work. Our relationship, in a very strange way, it's the same... that love is still there. It's the same Tim Burton from that wonderful day."