The director Krysten Ritter waited her entire life to work with: “It took a very long time”

Posted On December 17, 2025December 17, 2025

Sometimes you really have to wait to get what you most desire. It can be tough, like some higher power is testing your patience to make sure you really deserve what it is that you want, but ultimately, as the old saying goes, good things come to those who wait.

That’s what Krysten Ritter had to learn, having spent years and years wanting to star in a movie directed by her favourite filmmaker. Just because you’re known in the industry, doesn’t mean that you can work with whoever you like, though, so while Ritter longed to work with one person in particular, it wasn’t until years into her career that she finally achieved her goal.

The actor, best known for her role as Jane in Breaking Bad, has appeared in everything from 27 Dresses to Jessica Jones, but all she ever wanted was to work with Tim Burton. She has long considered herself a fan of the filmmaker, classing Beetlejuice as a particular favourite as a kid, so when she entered the industry, she knew that she had to do all she could to land herself a role in a Burton film.

“He’s so up my alley in terms of my taste as an audience member. I look like I belong in The Nightmare Before Christmas as Sally,” she told Backstage. Luckily, then, in 2014, she made her dream a reality when she scored herself a role in Big Eyes, the story of artist Margaret Keane.

While Amy Adams played the character of Keane, with Christoph Waltz playing her horrible husband, Walter, Ritter played Dee-Ann, one of the painter’s close friends. Her role might not have been massive, but the actor was just pleased to be starring in a Burton film, and not only that, it was an incredibly poignant tale of female emancipation, too.

“He’s created a whole world and a whole language, and you can spot him a mile away,” Ritter revealed. She’s not wrong – every Burton film is instantly recognisable, whether he’s working with animation or live-action. He single-handedly brought an accessible gothic aesthetic to the mainstream, attracting those looking for something a little bit darker with the likes of Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. 

Ritter added, “I am a huge fan and wished to be in a movie of his. It took a very long time. Every year my agent would bug them: ‘Why hasn’t [she] been in a Tim Burton movie yet?’”

So, with lots of pestering, she finally landed a role in a Burton movie, although it wasn’t one of the filmmaker’s best-received films. I mean, it’s one of his least memorable, in all honesty, although it does feature some great musical contributions from Lana Del Rey.

Perhaps one day Ritter will land a leading role in a Burton movie. Surely she’ll be first in line if a live-action version of The Nightmare Before Christmas (based on Burton’s story of the same name and actually directed by Henry Selick, which many people seem to forget) ever materialises.

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