‘Westworld’ Star Evan Rachel Wood Once Shared She Was Bullied and Spat on Because of Her Fame

Actor Evan Rachel Wood experienced success with her career at an early age. But although being successful in the film industry is often a reason to celebrate, not everyone was thrilled with Wood’s early rise to fame. At one point, Wood shared that she was even bullied because of it.

Evan Rachel Wood started acting from a young age

Wood is already a veteran actor in Hollywood. The young star got her start in the film industry when she was already a child. But acting was always a likely path for her as she comes from a long line of artists.

“My whole family are artists on both sides,” she said in a 2011 interview with The Guardian. “There’s no escaping. I think if someone in the family said they wanted to be a lawyer or accountant it would be like: ‘What? You want an office job?’”

She would later audition for Interview with the Vampire, a role which she lost to Kirsten Dunst. Still, Wood would go on to add other movies to her filmography. Including the controversial film Thirteen, which she ended up getting a Golden Globe nomination for.

But achieving that kind of success at such a young age began to rub others the wrong way.

Evan Rachel Wood once shared that she was bullied because of her career

Being a successful actor generated a lot of animosity from Wood’s classmates at school. So much so that they took their feelings out on Wood physically.

“I used to get beat up in elementary school for the same reason. They would assume I was this spoilt little brat,” she said. “In fifth grade, I would get held and spit on and people would throw basketballs at me and s***. It sucked. I never even fought back. I would be like: ‘Why? I’ve never done anything, I’m not bothering you.’”

The teachers didn’t help matters. Wood asserted that they were sometimes even worse than her classmates were.

“They thought I was stuck up, or, I don’t know, they were bitter teachers that were like, ‘This girl must think she’s better than everyone else’ but if anything, it just made me feel more like an outcast. I just wanted to hide,” she continued.

After a while, Wood would continue her education by being homeschooled. Although the actor did feel she missed out on a normal childhood occasionally, she was content with how her life turned out.

“I’m really happy with the good and the bad that’s come with it. I felt I had to grow up really quickly and in some ways didn’t really get a proper childhood but I think I made up for it later on in life,” she said.

Evan Rachel Wood was given a hard time because of her physique

The Westworld star’s success wasn’t the only thing that others would take issue with. In a 2016 interview with Yahoo, Wood would explain how she was also given a hard time because of her physique.

“I grew up being told there was only one way to be beautiful, which was very tall, curvy, tan, and blonde. I never really fit that—I was flat-chested and lanky and had braces. I was very pale and got made fun of and called anorexic and Casper,” she said.

But growing up and meeting new people helped her overcome those insecurities and find confidence.

“Once I got older and I met people who didn’t care about that stuff and thought I was beautiful the way I was, I was kind of shocked. You just have to stay true to who you are and you’ll attract people of like minds,” she explained.