Random Things You Didn't Know About Evan Rachel Wood (15 items)

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  (#10) Wood Has A Black Belt In Taekwondo

  The True Blood actress is clearly a woman of many talents. She even boasts a black belt in Taekwondo. Wood used to compete in the Junior Olympics as a child. When asked if she ever had to use her Taekwondo skills, she responded with a story from fifth grade:

  I used to get beat up in school around fifth grade, but it’s funny because I refused to use it when I got beat up. I just thought you weren’t supposed to. But I think once I did. I just did a really [forceful] kick and everyone was like, "Okay, I’m gonna go away now."
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  (#11) She Turned Down A Role In 'Mean Girls'

  During an April 2018 interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, Wood revealed one of the biggest missteps of her career. She admitted she declined to play a role in the 2004 Tina Fey teen comedy Mean Girls.

  "It's even worse, I turned it down," Wood said. "There's a good reason. The only reason was because I was already supposed to do a film called Pretty Persuasion that was set in a high school, that was very Heathers-esque and it was very similar."

  Mean Girls has gone on to become one of the most profitable teen comedies ever, while Pretty Persuasion only opened in select theaters. Thankfully, Wood has had plenty of success in her career and a good attitude about passing on the comedy. On The Tonight Show, she even made a plea to the movie's writer: "Tina, if you’re here, I’m so sorry we got off on the wrong foot. As long as the next movie you’re doing is not about a robot uprising, I will happily, happily do it."
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  (#7) Wood Is Set To Earn Equal Pay In Season 3 Of 'Westworld'

  HBO's Westworld features an ensemble cast with several different storylines. However, one could easily make the argument Wood's character Dolores Abernathy is the most recognizable and intriguing on the show. Even so, Wood did not earn the same pay as her male co-stars Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris during the series's first two seasons.

  Before Season 3 aired, HBO remedied the issue by announcing plans to pay Wood the same as her male co-stars. 

  “I was just told that, you know, ‘Hey... you’re getting equal pay.’ And I was like [gasp]. And I almost got emotional,” Wood said. “I was like, ‘I have never been paid the same as my male counterparts... Never, never.'”

  “I found out... I’m always fighting for that,” Wood continued. “And I have turned down projects - Westworld, it’s like, I get it a little more. It’s like, ‘Well, you’re Anthony Hopkins or Ed Harris.’ But I think now we’re all doing equal amounts of work and really hard work.”
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  (#5) She Credits David Bowie With Saving Her Life

  Wood credits David Bowie for being a musical influence and saving her life. Bowie passed when her band was in the middle of writing their first album. "He's been propping me up throughout every chapter of my life. And so it was so strange losing him the second I decided to put music out into the world... I guess that’s very profound. But he saved my life."

  Wood talked about how Bowie's ever-changing identity helped her with her own struggles growing up: 

  You couldn't define him, and when I was growing up, that’s how I felt about myself. It was like he was always producing this message of hope and understanding, always reaching out. He was so in your face, but never in a 'f*ck you' way. He was an ever-revolving, ever-changing work of art; so fluid, so unapologetic, but uplifting at the same time.
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  (#1) She Had A Tumultuous Relationship With Marilyn Manson

  Wood and shock-rocker Marilyn Manson met at a party in West Hollywood's famed Chateau Marmont when she was 18 years old and Manson was 36. The Thirteen actress appeared in the controversial music video for Manson's song, "Heart-Shaped Glasses." The couple went on to have an up-and-down love affair for four years, even getting engaged in 2010.

  Wood was drawn to the excitement of Manson's rocker lifestyle. She told Rolling Stone:

  And I was craving danger and excitement. I looked at my mother one day and said, "Mom, I'm gonna get on this tour bus for eight months and see the world and have a crazy journey and find myself, and if people aren't okay with that, I'm sorry, but I can't live my life for other people."

  The couple's relationship did not go without criticism. "Then you're demonized for figuring it out and getting messy," Wood said. "People would call me a whore when I walked down the street, and you can't not be hurt by that." Wood and Manson split for good in 2011. In later years, Wood made numerous references to an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship - even detailing some of her horrid experiences before Congress in 2018 - and while she never named Manson specifically, the time period stated by Wood lines up with her relationship with the musician. 
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  (#12) She Loves Twitter

  If you visit Wood's Twitter page, it's clear she is incredibly active on the social media platform. While Facebook is not necessarily her thing, Wood loves the connection Twitter brings. She explained why she prefers Twitter:

  I am on Facebook but it’s mainly for friends and family, so it’s not my real name. But I am on Twitter a lot. I resisted it for so long, but I love it because I get to connect with people I look up to - actors, comedians, and singers. I’ve made new friends and I get tickets to shows and things, like I’ll mention a band and get a tweet back that says, “You’re on the list,” and I’m like, “I love Twitter!”I follow a lot of news sources so I get news really quickly, and I love it because you get to talk about whatever issue you’re passionate about, so I’ve used it to rah-rah for certain things.

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