The lighter (and darker) side of Evan Rachel Wood

Vampire or girl next door? The actress keeps us guessing in two new roles.

By Gayle Jo Carter

Suddenly, she's everywhere. This week, Evan Rachel Wood shows off her lighter side in the new Woody Allen comedy "Whatever Works." (Says "Variety": "Wood handles ... her improbably Daisy Mae-ish character with surprising finesse.") And on the small screen, the actress is set to appear as a vampire on HBO's dark drama "True Blood."

Despite her newfound ubiquity and repeated critical acclaim in small, piercing dramas such as last year's "The Wrestler," Wood, 21, is best known for her notably strange relationships with much older oddballs Marilyn Manson and Wrestler co-star Mickey Rourke. We asked her about those, and more. Excerpts:

You've been labeled as dark and rebellious.
I'm just being me. People think I'm edgy, but I'm not.

How are you not edgy?
I'm pretty simple. I'm kind of a recluse. I don't go out in the daytime much.

In "Whatever Works," you marry a guy, Larry David, who's actually 61. Isn't that weird?
No. We don't even kiss. We love each other, but it doesn't cross the line.

What about that real-life kiss between you and Mickey Rourke?
We were friends, intimate, but we weren't romantic. It wasn't like that. [The rumors] affected our friendship. It felt weird then to be friends.

You told "GQ" that you and Marilyn Manson were back together. Are you still?
No. [But] he's one of my best friends.

Why do you think people are shocked that you've been a couple?
The age difference [he's 19 years older], the way he looks and the way his music sounds -- he's the poster child for everything scary. The more I find myself being honest, the more I find myself scaring people. A guy who wears makeup is a confidence thing that turns me on.

You've done some nudity. How do you feel about it?
In "Across the Universe" [2007], we were only allowed to show one breast. I wish it wasn't that way. I've done some movies that are very different sexually. People are up in arms if I'm tied to a chair. And I'm like, "Really?" Stuff like that seems tame to me.

You play a 400-year-old vampire in this season of HBO's "True Blood." So you'll be back in the dark?
I went after it [because] I loved it and thought I would fit in. I'm pale enough. I think vampires are incredibly romantic and attractive.