Aimee Lou Wood Shares Support from Angelina Jolie on 'Anxious People' Set
Aimee Lou Wood opened up about how she found her voice on the set of Anxious People, a Marc Forster film co-starring Angelina Jolie. While filming an emotional scene, Wood became overwhelmed by directions shouted from the crew.
She requested a single direction, one clear voice, and no hand movements in her line of sight to help her focus.
“I’ve spent years feeling unable to say anything like that for fear of seeming argumentative – but now I feel like I can take ownership of what I need to thrive, and tell people what won’t work for me.”
When she spoke up, Wood noticed Angelina Jolie silently encouraging her with a thumbs up. Despite being one of the world's most famous women, Jolie's support felt genuine and grounding to her.
“When I spoke up, all I could see was Angelina giving me a thumbs up. She’s possibly the most famous woman ever, but she’s so normal.”
Reflection on 'Saturday Night Live' Incident
Wood also reflected on a previous moment when she criticized a “mean and unfunny” Saturday Night Live parody of her. This experience helped her break a pattern of not standing up for herself, which she traced back to childhood bullying.
The SNL sketch, aired in April, mocked Wood’s character Chelsea from White Lotus Season 3, featuring cast member Sarah Sherman wearing fake buck teeth. Wood has expressed exhaustion over repeated comments about her teeth.
“It felt like breaking a pattern of not standing up to childhood bullies.”
Summary
Aimee Lou Wood credits Angelina Jolie’s quiet encouragement and her own growing confidence for empowering her to speak up on set and beyond, overcoming past difficulties in asserting herself.
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