The 'Westworld' star revealed she attempted suicide twice before she attended therapy and was diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
- Apr 28, 2018
AceShowbiz - Evan Rachel Wood believes the pressures of being a child star prevented her seeking psychological help. The actress detailed the years of sexual abuse she was subjected to in a powerful testimony to America's Congress in February, where she revealed that she'd been "Mentally and physically tortured" by her ex-partner, and recounted incidents of rape, bondage, and psychological abuse.
The 30-year-old, who has been active in the entertainment industry since 1994, attempted suicide twice before she attended therapy and was diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
"I had been a child star my whole life, and I had this intense pressure to be perfect and to not have problems and to not burden anyone with problems and to work. It kept me from getting help for a long time," Evan said in an interview with Refinery29. "There was something really freeing about it, and I realised that I really liked myself. And when I stripped literally everything away, I couldn't sing, I had nodes on my vocal chords. I couldn't walk. I was in a mental hospital. I was like, 'Wow how did I get here?'".
The Thirteen star insisted that getting help "Wasn't as hard as feeling crazy," and says that her four-year-old son, whose name she has kept under wraps, has stopped her getting "upset over little things anymore".
Evan is now back on TV screens in the second series HBO's "Westworld", where she plays Dolores, a sexually and emotionally violated robot ready to turn on her creators.
And the Golden Globe nominee is delighted to see how much her character resonates with female viewers.
"I went to the Women's March in Washington and someone had a sign with a photo of Dolores on it that said, 'I imagined a story where I didn't have to be the damsel.' That was the moment I realised Dolores was an icon for a revolution," she smiled.
