For many actors, the cringe-y commercial when they’re just starting out is somewhat a rite of passage, but no such thing exists for Bebe Wood—not really. Once upon a time, she was “a laughing child for a television provider or a cable company.” She recalls, “I think it only aired in New York state. I can’t even remember the name of it.” There are very few actors, however, who can count Tina Fey as their first-ever scene partner. Wood is among them.
It was 2012 and in a tiny café in Queens, Wood played “Catherine, but everyone calls me Cat” in an episode of 30 Rock (Season 6, Episode 18). Fey, a revered comedy legend, was the first person that Wood—just 10 years old at the time—exchanged dialogue with on-screen. “She was amazing,” the Kansas City native says. “Tina just made that day so special. I think she really showed me what performing is all about.”
It could’ve gone completely differently. Wood’s parents weren’t psyched about her pursuing acting (the volatile nature of the industry is enough to make any parent wary), but she “begged and begged and begged” and finally, they caved. An audition here, a callback there, and Wood’s day on the 30 Rock set ended up being the litmus test on which her career teetered.
“You have these dreams as a child, like ‘Oh, I hope one day I can do this, oh, I hope one day I can do that.’ And then you finally get there, and it may not actually be anything like what you expect it to be,” Wood says. “There’s a huge possibility that on that day, I could have just gotten there, done the job, and realized that acting wasn’t for me.”
She might’ve been a historian had it all not worked out, but cut to 12 years later, Wood has come full circle (and you can probably gather that acting is very much for her). After a handful of minor to recurring TV roles, she stars as Gretchen Wieners in Fey’s refreshed Mean Girls—a cinematic adaptation of the Broadway musical stage production. How serendipitous that the witness to the launch of her career would also facilitate her Big Break a little over a decade later. Life’s funny like that, huh? “My career, I attribute it to Tina,” Wood says emphatically.
On a dreary New York morning in January, I sat down with Wood at StyleCaster’s studios to talk about her audition for Mean Girls and find out if her parents have changed their minds about her career choice.
StyleCaster: Paint a bit of a picture for me. What was your first experience with acting?Bebe Wood: It started such a long time ago. I always wanted to be an actor ever since I was a little girl; since I was three years old. My parents took me to a production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on the West End and we were sitting in the front row.
In the middle of the show, the Child Catcher leaned over the edge of the stage, put his little sickle on my nose in the middle of the performance, and said, “I’ll get you kitty witty”. I didn’t even freak out. Apparently, I just started giggling and laughing, and I loved it. My parents were like, “That’s odd. That is bizarre.”
I would have burst into tears and sworn off musical theater for the rest of my life, I think.Right? Little three-year-old me was like, “Well, that’s just delightful.” I think that’s the moment that I caught the bug and fell in love with acting.
After you were in 30 Rock with Tina Fey, did she make the connection when you auditioned for Mean Girls?So, I’ll tell you how I perceived the situation, and then she recently told me something that gave me some more information about how it actually went down.
I got an email to audition for Mean Girls in November of 2022. I put myself on tape, I didn’t hear for months. Then in January, I got an email that said, “Hey, can you meet the directors tomorrow?” And I was like, “Oh, sure. I’ll pop on that Zoom.” It was supposed to be me, the directors, and our casting director. When I logged onto Zoom, the first person that I saw was Tina. She said to me, “Hey, Bebe, do you remember me?”
The Tina Fey was asking if you remembered her?It was very overwhelming, very surreal, and a bit emotional for me. I called my mom afterward in, like, a teary mess and I remember saying, “I don’t really care if I get the job at this point,” because that just felt like such a beautiful, full-circle moment. That was around the 10-year milestone of my career.
So, tell me the other side of the story.Yeah, so recently Tina told me that they were looking through audition tapes and they couldn’t find who should play Gretchen. So, she was like, “I want to see every tape,” and she did watch every single one. Then, she watched mine and apparently—which sounds crazy—but she was like, ‘That’s her like, that’s Gretchen.’ Then she looked at my IMDB page and saw that the first job I did was 30 Rock. She put it in a really sweet way: “I picked you once and I picked you again.”
What did you do for your audition?So, we didn’t have a choice, I did Gretchen’s song “What’s Wong With Me?”. I wasn’t super familiar with the Broadway musical, but I knew and loved this song. There’s just something so intimate and vulnerable and raw about it.
Ashley Park, who has a cameo in this film as the French teacher, played Gretchen in the Broadway production. Did she offer any advice to you?I’ve never met her! I was on set every single day and miraculously, the one day I had off was the day that she was there. A total bummer. I would totally love to get to know her. I think she’s so, so talented.
What about the original Gretchen, Lacey Chabert? Did you reach out to her?I haven’t met her either. I know that Jack Welch [new Damian] spoke with Daniel [Franzese, OG Damian] at the premiere, which I think is so sweet.
There are so many fun scenes. Which was the most fun to film?There were a lot of really surreal moments. The very first day we introduced the Burn Book in Regina’s room so that was surreal. But maybe the most fun day for me was the winter talent show.
It’s iconic.So iconic. I also love dancing. I was just so happy and thrilled. Like, I didn’t even feel the heels on my feet.
There’s so much hype around this film. Has all of this craziness sunk in yet?I don’t know if there’s any real true way to process everything that’s happening, because there’s so much happening all at once. I think this entire thing is crazy, like, I really can’t believe that the stars aligned in this way. It doesn’t feel real.
How do your parents feel about it all now?They don’t care [laughs]. Like, they really don’t care. I’m like, “Oh look, I’m on a billboard!” and they’re like, “Great, what should we have for dinner?”
They’ll always keep you grounded then.Totally. When you’re in the thick of it, I’m just like, “Well, this is my life,” and I’m so grateful for it. I love my job.
Mean Girls is in theaters now.
**This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.**
