Interview with Bebe Wood
Glitter recently sat down with Bebe Wood, who plays Shannon O’Neal on the second season of the ABC hit series, The Real O’Neal’s. The new season premiered last week. Bebe is best known for her break out role in NBC’s The New Normal. We sat down with Bebe to talk about the new season of The Real O’Neals, who we can see guest-starring on the show, her love for musical instruments and claymation, and where you can find her next. Read on for more about this amazing actress with a bright future ahead of her.
Photographer: Matt Sayles
GLITTER: Did you always want to be an actress?
BEBE: I have wanted to be an actress since I was three-years-old. My family went on a vacation to England and took me to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Paladium. I was sitting in the front row and the actor playing the Child Catcher tapped me on the nose with his sickle and said, “I’ll get you kiddie widdie!” He paused, expecting me to cry, but instead I smiled ear-to-ear. After the show, he talked to me at the stage door about being an actor.
GLITTER: Who do you play on ABC’s The Real O’Neal’s?
BEBE: On the Real O’Neals I play Shannon, the sly, quick-witted, ambitious younger sister.
GLITTER: Who would you love to guest star on a future episode?
BEBE: I have always wanted RuPaul to guest star, but that dream came true! All of us were fangirling, and you might have seen him on the show during the season 2 premiere, which just aired on October 11th.
GLITTER: What other roles have you had in the past?
BEBE: I’m best known for playing Shania on The New Normal, but I’ve also had some great guest-starring roles on 30 Rock, Wet Hot American Summer, About a Boy, and Veep. However, my most challenging role was playing a sheep in my second grade nativity play. 😉
GLITTER: How do you balance school and acting?
BEBE: The most important step in balancing school on set is having a wonderful teacher. Luckily, I do. Her name is Sandy McNeil. She is the unicorn of teachers. Organization and setting timed goals are key. Staying focused and bringing schoolwork home is also important. The hardest part may be seeing the cast playing games outside while I am stuck inside doing logarithms. Haha!
GLITTER: What do you love to do in your spare time?
BEBE: After a long day at work, I usually just sleep. Very exciting! But, if I’m not feeling tired, I like to do many things. I have a vinyl collection, so I’ll listen to records, alphabetize, or clean them. I also have a few catalogs showing clothes from the 1930s and 40s, and I enjoy looking through them. I also love watching movies and just relaxing.
GLITTER: Do you have any favorite hobbies?
BEBE: I have a few strange hobbies. I adore claymation. I’ve made a few short films with small clay creatures. It’s very time consuming, so I’m not able to do it all of the time, but when I do, I have the greatest fun. You can easily spend 6 hours filming, and your finished product may only be 20 seconds long! I also enjoy finding odd things in the woods, interestingly shaped acorns, pieces of glass, rocks, feathers, and dead bodies. (JK about the dead bodies part.)
GLITTER: Do you play any instruments?
BEBE: I love playing music. In fact, it is one of my favorite things to do besides acting. I play the guitar, ukulele, piano, and I’m teaching myself the mandolin. (It’s quite difficult). I’d love to eventually learn the banjo, the drums, and the pungi. Soon, I’d love to release some of my own music that I’ve written! I also love to sing!
GLITTER: What is something fans may not know about you?
BEBE: I have a very peculiar passion for Colonial Williamsburg and the 1770s in general. I’m not sure why, but I’ve literally been obsessed with this living museum in Virginia since I was 7 years old. It all started with the American Girl Doll, Felicity and has grown into a very strong obsession for the Revolutionary War. If I could work at Colonial Williamsburg as a historical interpreter, I would highly enjoy that.
GLITTER: How do you give back to the community?
BEBE: Giving back to the community is very important to me. I’ve held several fundraisers for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which is an amazing organization. I also volunteer at food banks and shelters and would love to get involved with the Red Cross.
GLITTER: Best advice you were ever given?
BEBE: I recently met one of my musical idols, and his advice to me was, “As long as you’re happy with what you’re making, that’s all that matters.” To me, this is really inspiring because you should never be self-conscious in your creative endeavors or worry too much about what other people think.
GLITTER: What is your definition of self-love?
BEBE: Check out my video about this on the Glitter Mag YouTube channel!
GLITTER: Do you have any new projects coming up that you can tell us about?
BEBE: Season 2 of The Real O’Neals premiered on October 11th and I can’t wait! I also did one of the voices for a character on Netflix’s new animated series, Trollhunters, which comes out in December.
GLITTER: What would be your dream role in the future?
BEBE: Since I love history so much, any project that takes place in the past would be super exciting for me.
GLITTER: How can fans follow you?
BEBE: Twitter: Bebe_Wood
Instagram: broadwaybebe
Editorial Director | Writer | Tweet me @heatherriccio
