For the past four seasons, actress and activist Evan Rachel Wood has become known for the lead role of Delores on HBO's Westworld, which has just returned for its fourth season. Since her television debut in 1994 and her film debut three years later, Evan Rachel Wood has been a consistent presence on screen, with roles in dramas, mainstream movies, and even musicals.
In Westworld, Wood gets to flex her acting muscles as a host at the Westworld park who comes to realize over the course of the first season that she has no free will as a result of the humans who built her. For those who are fans of Evan Rachel Wood's stellar performance on Westworld, the following projects from her filmography prove that Wood has been delivering excellent performances since the early days of her career.
Running With Scissors
Based on Augusten Burroughs's best-selling memoir, Running with Scissors was the feature film directorial debut of future television mogul Ryan Murphy. The story follows Burroughs's tumultuous childhood through a darkly comedic lens that would become emblematic of much of Murphy's later work.
In Running with Scissors, Evan Rachel Wood plays the rebellious teenage daughter of Burroughs's therapist, Dr. Finch (Brian Cox). Lead actor Joseph Cross shares excellent screen chemistry with Wood as unlikely kindred spirits in a dysfunctional living situation.
The Upside Of Anger
Evan Rachel Wood has successfully played several teen daughters in movies, and The Upside of Anger is another strong supporting turn for the actress. As one of the daughters of Joan Allen and Kevin Costner, Wood plays Popeye, who befriends a young gay man at school and bonds with him over their respective family dynamics.
The Upside of Anger may not have the same mainstream success as other projects in Wood's filmography, but it is a funny and dark portrait of a family going through divorce and dysfunction. The comedy-drama was also one of Wood's first films following her breakthrough year on camera in 2003.
True Blood
Wood had a recurring role on the wildly popular HBO supernatural romance show True Blood, created by Alan Ball. Based on the book series by Charlaine Harris, True Blood starred Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer and ran for seven successful seasons.
This was Evan Rachel Wood's first major introduction to HBO original content. She would return to the network for the miniseries Mildred Pierce and for Westworld. In True Blood, however, Wood only appeared in eight episodes as Sophie-Anne LeClerq, a centuries-year-old vampire. This role saw Wood playing a far more confident character than what audiences had become accustomed to previously.
The Ides of March
One of Evan Rachel Wood's more prestigious roles in the early 2010s was her supporting turn in George Clooney's political drama The Ides of March. Adapted from Beau Willimon's Off-Broadway play Farragut North, Clooney's film featured an all-star cast that included Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Paul Giamatti.
Wood played Molly Stearne, who works as an intern for Democratic presidential candidate Mike Morris (Clooney). When Molly becomes pregnant with Morris's child, the coverup kicks the plot of The Ides of March into high gear. Though her character's fate in the film is ultimately tragic, The Ides of March is worth checking out to see Evan Rachel Wood hold her own among an impressive ensemble.
The Missing
Ron Howard's 2003 Western film based on the novel The Last Ride by Thomas Eidson follows a fractured father-daughter relationship in 19th century New Mexico, with Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett in leading roles. The inciting incident of The Missing involves the kidnapping and abduction of several young women in the town, including the daughter of Blanchett's character, who is played by Wood.
The Missing was one of two breakthrough performances for Evan Rachel Wood in 2003. The project was the critically acclaimed director Ron Howard's first movie after his Oscar-winning biopic A Beautiful Mind and became one of Evan Rachel Wood's first prestige pictures. The Missing is a dark portrait of the American West and serves as a strong example of a slightly modernized update on the genre.
Frozen II
One of Evan Rachel Wood's most mainstream and commercially successful projects was the 2019 Disney animated sequel Frozen II. Although the film was not quite as revelatory as its predecessor, which became a cultural phenomenon, Frozen II had a strong box office showing and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
Wood joined the cast of the first film, which includes Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, and Jonathan Groff, and played Queen Iduna, the mother of Elsa and Anna. This was one of two major musical projects starring Evan Rachel Wood, and she even contributed her own vocals to one of the film's most successful original songs, "All is Found."
Across The Universe
Julie Taymor's wild 2007 romantic drama is the other major musical starring Evan Rachel Wood. In this jukebox musical movie inspired by the titular song from The Beatles, Wood plays Lucy, a fictionalized character based upon the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."
Although the film had a mixed critical reception, Across the Universe was still praised for its cinematography and for the musical numbers, led by great singing performances from Wood and her co-star Jim Sturgess. Once again, Evan Rachel Wood proves that she can move from musicals to prestige films to television seamlessly.
Mildred Pierce
Following her recurring role on True Blood, Wood continued her collaboration with HBO by starring opposite Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce in Todd Haynes's miniseries adaptation of the noir classic Mildred Pierce. For this performance, Evan Rachel Wood received her first Emmy nomination (she would later earn two more nominations for her work on Westworld).
Mildred Pierce is a dark saga following the intense mother-daughter relationship between the title character (Winslet) and her daughter Veda (Wood) set against the backdrop of the Great Depression. The series leads to a disturbing climax featuring excellent acting by the three lead characters. For this role, Wood was able to tap into a darker, more vicious character, an experience that would serve her well for her subsequent role on Westworld.
The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky's gritty 2008 independent drama The Wrestler was marketed as a comeback vehicle for Mickey Rourke, who earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. The film follows Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Rourke) who is determined to continue his wrestling career despite his declining physical health.
The Wrestler is an unflinching character study anchored by Rourke's performance. However, the film also heavily relies on the supporting performances of actresses Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. Wood plays Rourke's daughter, an intelligent character in The Wrestler, with whom he has a contentious relationship. Wood brings such nuanced believability to the role of a woman who has been repeatedly treated poorly by the protagonist.
Thirteen
Perhaps the most memorable performance of Evan Rachel Wood's career was her second breakthrough role in Thirteen. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, Thirteen was highly controversial for its frank depiction of teen drug and alcohol abuse.
The film starred Wood as thirteen-year-old Tracy Freeland, who copes with her depression through various forms of self-harm and self-destructive behavior, which Evan Rachel Wood earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance. Thirteen may be completely different in style, form, and genre to Westworld, but the common denominator is Evan Rachel Wood, who manages to bring a similar desire for freedom and independence to both Tracy and Delores.