What You Don't Know About Behind Her Eyes' Star Eve Hewson

If you've seen Netflix's latest thriller Behind Her Eyes, which just so happens to be the number one trending show on Netflix right now, it's likely that you at least have some awareness of one of the film's stars, Eve Hewson. In the film, which follows the dangerous and spooky untangling of a single mom's affair with her boss and subsequent friendship with his wife, Hewson plays the wife, Adele.

Apart from being the daughter of one of the most famous musicians on the planet, Bono from U2 (real name Paul David Hewson) you might know Hewson from her previous roles on This Must Be the Place, television series The Knick, or The Luminaries (per IMDb).

Similar to other children of incredibly popular and talented celebrities, Hewson has made it clear to everyone that she is more comfortable straying from the fame of her parents to make it on her own. So, in light of her appearance in Netflix's most popular drama of the moment, we went on a quest to find out more about the mysterious leading lady — and, as it turns out, Hewson has led quite an interesting life.

While we don't want to give away any Behind Her Eyes spoilers, we will say this: Hewson's performance in the drama is downright creepy. So, to get into character, Hewson claims that she had to channel another actor's performance from one of her favorite films. I'm obsessed with this movie Orphan, she told NME earlier this month. "I watched it years ago in college and was just obsessed with Isabelle Fuhrman's performance. I kept referencing it when we were shooting, even though everyone was like, 'I don't know that movie. What are you talking about?'"

If you have watched Orphan, then you might be able to spot the similarities in the actors' performances. In the film, which centers around the adoption of a disturbed orphan (via IMDb), Fuhrman (who plays the orphan named Esther) is entirely too convincing as a murderous child. Both performances have successfully chilled audiences to their core.

Hewson may have drawn on some of her Irish toughness for the role as well. On at least one occasion, the actress, who was born in Dublin, used her Irish brogue to break up a bar fight that was happening across the street from her apartment in Brooklyn. Not able to escape her roots, seems Hewson moved right across the street from an Irish pub. "It's the bane of my life," she said in an interview with GQ back in 2015. She also explained how she ended the street fight by yelling, "Shut the [eff, but with an Irish accent] up," from her balcony.

Hewson has lived in New York City for the past 10 years, though she isn't currently residing there due to the coronavirus pandemic. Recently, she moved back into her parents' home in Dublin (per Pop Sugar).

Being the daughter of one of the biggest rock stars in the world does have its privileges — especially when you're a teenager. Back in 2005, Kings of Leon toured with U2, and given that Hewson was Bono's daughter, she was given access to the band that others did not receive. Hewson, who was 13 years old at that time, along with her then-15-year-old sister, Jordan, admits to being smitten with the band members. "They used to tour with U2 when I was 13 and my sister was 15," Hewson told NME. "We obviously had a huge crush on them, but they were 18 so we just sort of ran after them and got kicked out of a few after-parties!"

Given that Hewson has admitted to being a bit rebellious as a teenager, it's easy to imagine a scenario in which she gets kicked out of an after-party at such a young age. According to Hewson, the Kings of Leon were so taken aback by her antics that they even mentioned her name in a few interviews back in the day. (per NME). 

While Hewson's performance in Behind Her Eyes might be currently haunting your dreams, it turns out that Hewson also struggles with some haunting dreams of her own — and has since she was young. "I grew up with the worst night terrors of all time," Hewson told InStyle earlier this month. "I'm famous for it in my family. I would wake up in the middle of the night screaming, in cold sweats, running around the house, ever since I was a kid."

Hewson says that she also suffers from sleep paralysis, wherein she is unable to move or speak prior to and after sleeping for a minute or longer, and nightmares that involved her waking up and falling back asleep — only to dream of the same terrifying thing. Thankfully, Hewson says that she has had supportive people in her life who have attempted to help her get rid of these night terrors. "As an adult, I had this boyfriend, God bless him," she told InStyle. "He just sort of walked me through it every night and would get me a glass of water, sit up, maybe leave the room. And that sort of helped me tackle it."

Though Hewson's acting chops have been admired in recent years, she has previously admitted that her father's fame has helped her score an acting gig or two. Hewson has spoken candidly of how her fellow acting students struggled to find acting jobs while she has experienced few issues while on the hunt for work.

"That's never been a problem for me, and I think that's because of my family," she told Radio Times in 2020. "That's not the way the system should work, of course, but if the door is open, walk through the door."

Of course, though, the negative side of this recognition is the fact that many have a hard time separating Hewson from her father. Recently, Hewson made it clear that she is her own person and wants to be celebrated for who she is, apart from her famous family. "I really like to just focus on my career and what I want to do," she told InStyle. "And worrying too much about how other people see me or what other people think of me is just sort of a mindset I don't really want to be in. I don't really care, but it sure would be sweet."

To put it simply: She wants to stop being referred to as "Bono's daughter."