Evan Rachel Wood gives comedy a try for a change
For someone who has been in Hollywood since childhood, Evan Rachel Wood has been in few romantic comedies. Wood, 26, has spent most of her career plumbing the darker end of the emotional spectrum, with acclaimed roles in “The Wrestler,” “The Ides of March” and HBO miniseries “Mildred Pierce” (for which she was nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe).
But she’s positively giddy in “Barefoot,” an offbeat romantic comedy in which she plays Daisy, an escaped mental patient whose mother raised her in seclusion. She runs off with Jay (Scott Speedman), a troubled convict who breaks parole to pass Daisy off as his girlfriend at his brother’s wedding.
Wood recently called from her home, where she was making breakfast, to discuss her surprisingly comedic turn in “Barefoot,” her favorite movie romances and taking time off to enjoy being a new mother.
Question: This is the funniest performance I’ve ever seen from you. It was a nice surprise. Have you done much comedy before?
Answer: Just a little. One of the reasons why I did it is because I wanted to do something different, and I wanted to do something really accessible and really sweet and really funny. I’ve done a lot of heavy drama, and I think your psyche needs a break from that every now and then.
Q: But beneath the comedy, your character is suffering from dire trauma. Was it hard to strike a balance between those two extremes?
A: It was, and I don’t think I realized it until we were filming, just how much emotion I was going to have to conjure up. Because when you read the script, you think, “This is really funny,” then you get to it and there’s so much going on. It was a real challenge. I think we straddled that line pretty well. I wanted her to be very Find a review of “Barefoot” at movies.azcentral.com. emotional and vulnerable, but also completely over the top. I don’t think there’s anything subtle about her.
Q: She kind of reminded me of the Little Mermaid, just so naive and new to the world. I almost expected her to start brushing her hair with a fork at the table.
A: When I was watching it, I thought of “Tangled” quite a bit. But instead of a tower, it’s a mental institution.
Q: You’ve played such forward, adventurous women, and it was interesting to see you play someone so sheltered. You don’t seem anything like that in real life. Was it hard to get into that sort of head space?
A: It was. The idea behind her is that she’s just so pure of heart, she has no filter, no social skills whatsoever. ... She’s only really had contact with her mother, who has obviously got issues, and she probably gets plopped in front of the TV all day because she never leaves the house. A lot of her personality is a lot like what she sees on TV. She’s just mirroring that, so she’s this kind of over-the-top cartoon character.
It was hard to get in that frame of mind. I remember when we were filming, I was thinking, ‘I hope no one on this crew thinks I’m just a jerk who doesn’t want to talk to anyone.’ I didn’t want to go into this innocent character and then come out of it between takes and smoke cigarettes with people and hang out and talk, because that would completely mess up the head space. So I was very shy on that set.
Q: What sort of romances resonate with you personally? Do you have any favorites?
A: One film I love, that “Barefoot” kind of reminded me of, is “Benny & Joon.” I love the weird romances, the unexpected romances. Oh God, this is another Johnny Depp movie, but I love “Edward Scissorhands.”
Q: I was struck by the scene where your character has a panic attack, it seemed so real. Have you ever had a panic attack before?
A: Oh yeah. Honestly, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t. I’m completely unashamed. I don’t have them anymore, but I used to have them, especially when I was a teenager at, like, malls and places with lots of people.
Q: Have you ever felt that way in front of the camera?
A: No. Acting is like meditating or therapy, it calms your mind. For me, any kind of stress or anxiety went away. I think that’s one of the reasons I loved it so much, because you get to leave yourself behind for a second and focus on something else.
Q: You recently gave birth to a son (in July, with husband Jamie Bell). Is it hard, as an actress, to take that sort of time off?
A: I think I’m really lucky. First of all, the way we take care of women after they’ve had babies is pretty appalling in this country. We basically give them no support or help and just make them go back to work immediately, and that’s kind of cruel. I do feel really lucky that I’ve had that time.
Q: Do you feel any pressure to rush back into roles?
A: I think I’ve made a point to take time off, even before I had a kid. I never felt like I had to work constantly. You have to take time off and you have to just live your life, otherwise I feel like, as an actor, I’ll have nothing to draw from. I have to go out and experience things and live. Otherwise, how am I going to act?