Will Evan Rachel Wood go down in history as the highest paid actress in music video history for her romp with boyfriend Marilyn Manson in his “Heart-Shaped Glasses” video? If indeed her romance with the shock rocker – 19 years her senior – overwhelms the public consciousness of who Evan Rachel Wood is, it would be a shame. She is a fine acting talent, utilizing her “wise beyond years” trait to convey teenage characters confused, awkward, and struggling to find their way. She says she envisions a career similar to that of Jodie Foster’s. Perhaps, years from now, the Manson fling will be seen as pop lore, one of those bizarre romantic oddities that go down in the annals of legend.
Born in North Carolina in 1987, with the precociousness evident early, young Evan was home schooled while developing an array of talents, like singing and earning a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She was on TV by age seven, and by twelve was a regular on the show “Once and Again.” When her parents separated, she moved with her mother to Los Angeles to expand her acting career. On the big screen, she played the proverbial daughter role in a handful of pictures – from Pacino’s daughter in “S1m0ne” to Joan Allen’s daughter in “The Upside of Anger.” She’s growing into exploring more young women-on-their-own parts now, and it would be interesting – if she does emulate a trajectory similar to Foster’s – to follow a career that began in childhood and watch it mature into adulthood. Our only hope is that she doesn’t grow up too early.
She was quite good in HBO’s “Westworld” though it’s a shame that the show fizzled after a great start.
Evan on the Screen
“Once and Again” was the show that put Evan on the map and upgraded her to the doting daughter phase of her career. The list of those roles stretch from “S1m0ne” to Holly Hunter’s daughter in “Thirteen,” to Cate Blanchett’s daughter in “The Missing,” to the youngest daughter in “The Upside of Anger,” and to Brian Cox’s daughter in “Running with Scissors.” Evan is the lead in “Pretty Persuasion” in 2005 and plays opposite Edward Norton in “Down in the Valley” released the same year. On the music video screen, she’s engaging in sex with Marilyn Manson and embracing him in a blood storm in his “Heart-Shaped Glasses” video.
Evan Says
On life:
“If the world were to end tomorrow, I really believe I could say I have lived a full life already – and that I have been extremely lucky.”
On her relationship with Marilyn Manson:
“Everyone is so worried that I’m losing myself, but really I’m finding myself. I’ve never been more comfortable in my own skin.”
On the draw of sex, 2004:
“Magazine racks and music videos don’t even show the girls’ faces any more. It’s just bodies or a bottom or a breast shot, so girls think that’s what they have to do to get attention, get guys, or be popular.”