Michelle Rodriguez says Hollywood felt like the devil's world
Michelle Rodriguez says Hollywood felt like the "devil's world" when she first arrived, citing a Jehovah's Witness upbringing that left her unfazed by fame. The Fast and the Furious star, 48, shared the remarks at a 25th-anniversary screening of the 2001 film in Los Angeles this week, People magazine reported.
The actress, known for eight Fast and the Furious films across more than 25 years in entertainment, described feeling out of place after a strict religious childhood. Her comments add fresh context to how she approached early fame. More celebrity breaking news is covering the remarks as fans revisit the franchise anniversary.
Key Takeaways
- Michelle Rodriguez says Hollywood felt like the "devil's world" after her Jehovah's Witness upbringing.
- She spoke at a Los Angeles 25th-anniversary screening of the 2001 Fast and the Furious film.
- Vin Diesel reportedly sought her for Letty after seeing Girlfight.
- She has previously said the faith left her feeling she lived a "double life."
What did Michelle Rodriguez say about Hollywood?
According to Page Six, Rodriguez told the anniversary audience she came from a Jehovah's Witness background when she entered the industry.
"So it's like none of this really means anything to me. And so you're dealing with a kid who's not affected. I'm already playing in the so-called devil's world in my mind as a 20-year-old, obviously," she said, per People.
That framing helps explain why the Fast star has long seemed grounded amid franchise-level fame: the industry's status games never matched the worldview she grew up with.
How did her upbringing shape her Fast and Furious start?
Before landing Letty Ortiz, Rodriguez had appeared in only two independent films, Girlfight and 3 A.M. She said she was still learning what it meant to be an actor in New York when Diesel saw Girlfight and wanted that character as his girlfriend in Fast.
Despite not caring much about the movie itself because of her strict upbringing, she loved the physical side of the job. "I really loved being able to get in a car, train, learn how to shoot guns, learn how to race cars," she told People.
"To me, that was the exciting thing. Doing things that you weren't allowed to do in real life. Break windows, be violent, all that stuff." The 2001 film centers on an undercover officer, played by the late Paul Walker, who infiltrates a street-racing crew led by Diesel.
Has Rodriguez spoken about her faith before?
Yes. On Facebook Watch's Red Table Talk in 2020, she described how intense her upbringing was, saying birthdays and Halloween were treated as evil and that she did not watch Disney movies until her teens "because of all the witchcraft."
In a 2015 Interview magazine conversation, she said the religion "kind of scarred me for life." She also recalled feeling she lived a "double life" while going door to door with her family, especially when she recognized classmates.
"At school, I was this tomboy kid who just loved to hang out with her friends and learn curse words, trying to fit in with the cool kids and defending all the kids who got picked on," she admitted. Those earlier remarks align with this week's reflection on arriving in Hollywood already mentally in the "devil's world."