Evan Rachel Wood loves going to theme-park-style haunted houses.
Yet last October she was navigating a maze of dark rooms when she realized something was wrong.
I go to haunted houses every year, only this time I wasnt getting scared, she recalls.
Credit: John P. Johnson/HBO
I was like, Whats wrong with me?
And I realized: Ive been [filming] season 2 too long.
Ive been completely desensitized to blood and dead bodies.
So you could expecta lotof carnage.
Surely you had a lot going of predictions going into season 2.
And they said, Yes.
I had to tear these ideas up and throw them out.
Just when you think nothing else could be possible, suddenly things you never imagined are possible.
I did have some theories about the first season that are turning out to be right.
So there were things you guessed about first season that are now being paid off?Yes.
Which is cool because there were things I thought for a second and thought, No, no.
But Im going back to things in the first season.
Theres a lot of those.
So what can you tease about your character this season?Shes multifaceted now.
She has access to all of her memories.
Its challenging for me to play to be all these different layers of herself.
And shes pretty ruthless this season, from what I hear …She is.
The way theyve described it to me is, Shes not good or bad, shes just right.
Woods head drops and she goes still looking pretty much exactly like Dolores powering down.
We sit in silence for a minute or so while the filming is being shot.
I have an idea.
Of course, she wants to be free.
Shes trying to get out of the park.
Shes certainly on a mission for something specific, but I dont know what that is.
Theres an array of consciousness going on.
Shes playing chess master.
Whats really challenging this season?Shes faced with a lot of dilemmas.
Im not used to that kind of dialogue because Im a girl.
Ive never been asked to play a general, its completely foreign to me.
Shes in a war and at the helm and thats completely new.
Other people are talking and were stuck there.
And then one of the horses started to piss as loud as an explosion.
And tears were welling in our eyes, we were trying so hard.
And the horse stopped, and we got through it.
And then another horse started peeing right after, and we immediately lost it.
The horse outtakes could be their own movie.
Im not even kidding.
And who is Dolores conflicting with?Dolores and Bernard … theres a lot going on there.
For a number of reasons.
I havent really had any scenes with Bernard last time.
I had a lot with Arnold.
Thats a completely different character.
Its so subtle, but its so apparent to me that he wasnt the same person.
I had a whole new appreciation for him.
But their relationship is quite complicated.
How far is Dolores willing to go to achieve her goals?
The only time you really see shades of the way Dolores used to be is when shes with him.
Shes really alone this season, its lonely at the top of a revolution.
I dont think she always takes pleasure in the things she has to do.
Its a good theory.
I hadnt really thought about what could stop her.
The feelings of love are still there.
She and Teddy are bound together in their core codes, and thats tough to break.
Ive been out with cast members and they get recognized and I dont.
But its fun when somebody yelled out at Target, Freeze all motor functions!
That has happened and I do I do it.
If anybody says that to me, I do it.
Thats very game of you.Its fun, and its so rare.
Was there anything from being in this role that impacted you personally?
To me, the whole season was leading up to that moment.
In that trailer, youre on that horse riding at full gallop and firing the rifle.
Is that all you?Yes.
Ive been riding since I was a kid.
Youre pretty much not using your hands much anyway.
But it was one of the coolest things Ive ever done.
Its less mechanical and more messy and more … human.
Westworldreturns to HBO tonight.
