Winona Ryder recalls being ‘actively in love’ with Al Pacino only for him to reject her advances

Winona Ryder has revealed how she once fell “actively in love” with Hollywood leading man Al Pacino only for him give this brutal reply.

Winona Ryder has revealed how she once fell “actively in love” with Hollywood leading man Al Pacino only for him to brutally reject her.

In a new interview with Elle UK, the actress, now 53, recalled working with Pacino – who is 32 years her senior – on the 1996 documentary film Finding Richard, on which they portrayed each other’s love interests.

But life did not imitate art, as Ryder discovered the hard way when Pacino, who also directed the film, pushed back her advances.

Winona Ryder said she was “actively in love” with Al Pacino when they starred in the 1996 film Finding Richard. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI

“I was absolutely in love with Al Pacino when I was working with him,” she told the magazine.

“We were doing that workshop for [working title] Richard III, which I didn’t know was gonna be a movie. I was actively in love with him.”

The actress recalled The Godfather star being “obsessed with coffee” and he would “take me all over New York” to try different coffees at various cafes when she was just 22.

The pair played each other’s love interests in the movie and hung out for coffee dates off-set. Picture: Alamy

“Finally, he’s dropping me off wherever I’m staying, and I’m like, ‘I love you, you know. I really am completely in love with you,’” she remembered. “And he was like, ‘Aw, honey, noooo.’”

“Then, like 10 years later, I meet his girlfriend, who’s younger than me.”

As awkward as it was, Ryder bounced back from the rejection and the pair have maintained a friendship that has stood the test of time. They even appeared together again on screen in the 2002 sci-fi film, Simone.

“I still play poker with him sometimes. It’s the best,” she added.

But the actress says that Pacino knocked back her advances when she confessed her love for him. Picture: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for AFI

Pacino has had a series of high-profile relationships with major stars, such as Diane Keaton, Kathleen Quinlan and Beverly D’Angelo, who is the father of his 24-year-old twins Julie and Anton.

The 85-year-old actor – who has never married – also has a daughter Julie, 35, from a previous relationship with acting coach Jan Tarrant.

Pacino’s last public girlfriend was producer Noor Alfallah, who at 31 is 54 years younger than him. The couple began dating in 2022 and welcomed a son, Roman, the following year. However, they parted ways in October last year.

Pacino’s most recent public relationship was with producer Noor Alfallah. Picture: nooralfallah/Instagram

Ryder has never married but has been dating clothing designer Scott Mackinlay Hahn since 2011. Picture: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

As for Ryder, she has dated the likes of Rob Lowe, Matt Damon and David Duchovny. She was also engaged to her Edward Scissorhands co-star Johnny Depp in the 90s.

However, they split in 1993 despite Depp famously getting a “Winona forever” tattoo on his arm. That tattoo has since been altered to read “Wino forever.”

Ryder has been dating eco-friendly clothing designer Scott Mackinlay Hahn since 2011, and it appears she has no plans to marry him.

“Marriage? I don’t know. I’d rather never have been married than been divorced a few times,” she explained in a previous interview. “Not that there’s anything wrong with divorce, but I don’t think I could do it if that was a possibility.”

“When your parents are madly in love for 45 years, your standards are really high.”

Originally published as Winona Ryder recalls being ‘actively in love’ with Al Pacino only for him to reject her advances