After 'Thirteen' and other films, young actor is an old pro

Evan Rachel Wood has been making movies for 11 years — and she's still not old enough to attend R-rated movies by herself. The 16-year-old actor, previously best known for her recurring role as young Jessie in the TV series "Once and Again," raised eyebrows this summer with her bravura performance in the independent film "Thirteen" and now plays the key role of a kidnapped daughter in Ron Howard's new Western "The Missing" (which opened in theaters this week).

In short, this angelic-looking teen, whose screen trademark is a heartbreaking, clear-eyed honesty, is having the kind of year most actors would dream of. In a telephone interview, Wood sounds thrilled as she talks about her recent projects.

"I always wanted to do a Western," she said, noting that she's long been a fan of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "Lonesome Dove" and "Tombstone."

Upon hearing that she'd be playing Lilly, the daughter of Cate Blanchett's character in "The Missing," Wood was star-struck: "She's one of my favorite actresses, so I was ecstatic." The young actor has had her share of famous screen parents, playing daughter to Al Pacino ("Simone"), Holly Hunter ("Thirteen") and Sandra Bullock ("Practical Magic").

To prepare for her role in "The Missing" — which takes place in the Southwest in 1885 — Wood read books about the period provided by Howard, including diaries written by kidnapped girls. And while she'd done "a little bit" of horseback riding before, the role required lessons in trail riding in the New Mexican desert, along with the rest of the cast.

Wood and 10-year-old Jenna Boyd (who played Wood's little sister) found a genuine connection with director Howard. "It really helped that he had been an actor when he was a child," she said. "He treated me and Jenna like equals, and really valued our opinion."

"The Missing" is perhaps Wood's most high-profile movie to date; "Thirteen," by contrast, was a low-budget indie from first-time director Catherine Hardwicke. But the latter film, the wrenching story of a once-innocent teen, Tracy, drawn into drugs, sex, shoplifting and bravado, attracted a great deal of attention this year, first with awards at the Sundance Film Festival and then with much buzz on its late-summer release.

Wood was initially reluctant to take on the project. "I was a little frightened by the script, and I didn't know if we'd be getting the right message across. I just wanted to know that I'd be in good hands." But after meeting Hardwicke, Wood was convinced.

"She was so passionate about the project, I was almost in tears by the end of the meeting. She just seemed to really understand."

Wood has since talked to a number of parents and teens who've watched "Thirteen," and she has been intrigued by their reactions. "I think we did what we set out to do," she said, "really wake these people up. Some of them had no idea any of that world really existed. It really scared them, as it should. We're not trying to say that every teen is doing this, but wanted parents to be aware that this is around them every day. Another reason why I made it is because kids are becoming numb to all of this. It happens every day, they don't take it seriously. They just forget how it ruins people's lives."

Wood's own life has long been centered around acting — and on being a regular kid. Her parents are both stage actors (her dad runs a theater in North Carolina), and she grew up backstage, "watching them perform and watching them direct." Now a junior in high school, she enjoys tae kwon do, singing and dancing, and going to the movies. "I like the little independent films," she said. "I'm not really into the big romantic comedies, the big action flicks with big names. I really loved 'Lost in Translation.' "

Looking back on her year, Wood resists making easy comparisons to the roles of Lilly and Tracy, both troubled daughters of single mothers. "They're two completely different people, I think," she said. "Tracy was much more angsty and troubled than Lilly. She was just kind of annoyed. I don't think Tracy was any more grown up at the end, I think she was just as lost, she kind of collapses. But Lilly definitely matures, finds her strength."

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725

or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com