Shailene Woodley says she drank to cope with hunger, goes viral yet again

Carly Mallenbaum | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Shailene Woodley clarifies her views on feminism Shailene Woodley is changing her tune on feminism.

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this report gave an incorrect title for Shailene Woodley's HBO series “Big Little Lies.”

Shailene Woodley shows authenticity onscreen, whether she's crying underwater in "The Descendants" or making everyone bawl in "The Fault in Our Stars." But it's in interviews, as herself, when she shows that she's a very open and honest person.

Even when that means saying something taboo or potentially embarrassing.

Here are three times the 26-year-old actor, activist and holistic healer got candid with a reporter and went viral in the process.

1. That time she revealed how 'miserable' she was eating too little for a role.

Plenty of actors have lost weight for a film role, but very few speak openly about how terrible the process is. In an interview that made waves over the weekend, Woodley told The Sunday Times that she only ate 350 calories per day while shooting her role in "Adrift," in which her character is lost at sea: "For the last two weeks, I had a can of salmon, some steamed broccoli and two egg yolks every day," and drank herself to sleep. "I can't sleep when I'm hungry, so I would have a glass of wine (to fall asleep)."

Woodley also told USA TODAY that in a scene where she fed herself and co-star Sam Claflin peanut butter with her fingers, there is true joy captured in the actors' eyes. "We were both so bloody hungry. The fact that we got to eat just pure salty fat in the form of peanut butter was heaven on Earth," says Woodley. "It made that scene very authentic."

2. That time she said she didn't own a TV at a TV awards show.

It's unusual that you see a star dissing the thing they're being honored for. When Woodley was at the Emmy Awards last September, where her HBO series "Big Little Lies" won eight Emmys, including outstanding limited series, she said on the red carpet, "All my friends watch TV. I just ask them when they have time to. When do people have time to? I’m a reader. So I always read a book instead of turning on my TV." Indeed, she appeared to diss TV viewers while being honored for a TV show. "I actually haven’t had a TV since I moved out of my parents’ house at 18."

3. That time she didn't know whether to identify as a feminist

Many celebrities are shy about discussing the topic of feminism because they're afraid of saying something offensive and controversial. Woodley doesn't share this fear. In 2014, Woodley told Time that she didn't consider herself a feminist. A year later, she said to Nylon that she's hesitant about being called a feminist, "because to me it’s still a label." But in the The New York Times last year, she said, "I would consider myself a feminist." She added, "If females start working through the false narrative of jealousy and insecurity fed through a patriarchal society, then not only will we have more women feeling confident in themselves and supportive of one another, but we will start introducing a type of matriarchy, which is what this world needs."