"Olivia Wilde"
Olivia Wilde joins the SmartLess podcast to discuss her journey from casting assistant to acclaimed director, her name change from Cockburn to Wilde at 18, and her recent films including The Invite (a one-night dinner party thriller) and I Want Your Sex. She shares insights about her directing process, the importance of rehearsal time with actors, and her upcoming Christmas comedy project.
Summary
Olivia Wilde appears on SmartLess to discuss her multifaceted career as an actress and director. She reveals her original surname is Cockburn (pronounced Coburn), which she legally changed to Wilde at 18 after moving to Los Angeles, inspired by Oscar Wilde and seeking her own identity as an aspiring actress. She worked as a casting assistant under legendary casting director Mali Finn at 16 and 18, an experience that shaped her understanding of the audition process and later informed her directorial approach with actors.
Wilde discusses her early acting roles, including a significant part in The OC as Alex Kelly, which she notes has gained renewed popularity among younger audiences through streaming. She reflects on how comedies shaped her childhood—her family frequently watched comedy together, which she credits as inspiration for her directorial interests. She mentions roles in films like Cowboys and Aliens, Change Up, and Drinking Buddies, the latter being particularly influential in her decision to pursue directing.
Regarding her directorial debut Booksmart, Wilde emphasizes that first films often contain everything a director has been developing throughout their career. She credits her film school education to observing multiple sets as an actor, absorbing techniques from various directors. She discusses her recent film The Invite, a one-night dinner party comedy adapted from a Spanish film, shot in 23 days on 35mm at Sunset Las Palmas soundstage with Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton. The production involved a two-week workshop with the cast and writers (Rashida Jones and Will McCormick) to personalize the script to each actor's strengths.
Wilde emphasizes the importance of rehearsal time, noting that agents often prevent actors from participating in pre-production workshops, which she believes is counterproductive. She describes her directing philosophy as allowing actors to experiment and then pruning in the edit rather than micromanaging during takes. She also discusses shooting primarily with one camera to avoid the "hack" approach and maintaining comedy timing through shared frames rather than cutting between singles.
She shares that she unexpectedly ended up acting in The Invite after the cast pressured her to fill a role, playing a character riddled with anxiety. She notes working with established filmmaker/actors like Edward Norton, who improvised an entire monologue that lasted the length of a 1000-foot film magazine (approximately 10 minutes), and Penelope Cruz, who contributed creative set pieces during workshopping.
Wilde mentions her upcoming projects: I Want Your Sex, directed by Greg Araki, where she plays a dominatrix opposite Cooper Hoffman, which premiered at Sundance alongside The Invite, and an untitled Christmas comedy she's currently directing. Both The Invite and I Want Your Sex were acquired after Sundance screenings and are being released in quick succession (June 26 and July 23, respectively).
About this episode
It’s the ham of the family, a.k.a. Olivia Wilde. We dip into a bowl of mixed Pop Tarts: proxy film school, Tony’s mothballs, the Rockwell Technique, and of course a lil Hendrix pickleball. You’re born with it. Welcome to SmartLess.
Key Insights
- Wilde changed her name from Cockburn to Wilde at 18 specifically to forge her own path and was inspired by Oscar Wilde after reading his works and performing in The Importance of Being Earnest.
- Working as a casting assistant under Mali Finn gave Wilde direct insight into how actors present themselves under pressure, which later informed her empathetic directing approach where she gives actors time during auditions even when she knows they won't be cast.
- Wilde credits her childhood experience of watching comedies together as a family—including Taxi, Monty Python, Wayne's World, and I Love Lucy—as the primary inspiration for wanting to make comedies as a director.
- Wilde's early film Drinking Buddies, which was improvised through an outline rather than a full script, was the first time she felt she understood how to construct a scene, directly leading to her decision to pursue directing.
- Wilde practices shooting primarily with one camera to avoid what she considers a 'hack' approach, and she believes cutting between singles is detrimental to comedy, preferring shared frames that show actors reacting together.
- The Invite was shot in only 23 days on 35mm film, with the cast and writers spending two weeks in pre-production workshop to personalize the script to each actor's specific strengths and improvisational abilities.
- Wilde emphasizes that agents frequently prevent actors from participating in pre-production rehearsal workshops, which she argues undermines the creative process and should be considered part of the job rather than extra compensation.
- Edward Norton improvised an entire monologue in The Invite without telling Wilde the content beforehand, using a full 1000-foot film magazine (approximately 10 minutes) to deliver what became a beautiful and meaningful moment.
- Wilde was not originally supposed to act in The Invite but was 'bullied' into the role by the cast, and she found the experience efficient because having one less body on set actually helped her see details the camera couldn't capture.
- Wilde believes first films often contain everything a director has been developing throughout their life, and credits her acting experience on multiple sets as her informal 'film school' since she never attended formal film education.
- Wilde's directorial approach involves allowing actors extensive freedom to experiment during takes, with the understanding that she will refine comedy timing and performance choices during the editing process rather than directing during filming.
- Both The Invite and I Want Your Sex premiered at Sundance Film Festival within a day of each other and were both acquired, giving Wilde the rare opportunity to have two films released in quick succession.
Topics
Transcript
The ultimate cookout starts with the ultimate ingredients. At Whole Foods Market, no antibiotics ever. Burgers and kebabs are prepped and ready to throw on the grill. Fire up a juicy ribeye. Grab creamy potato salad and savory flatbreads from the prepared foods department. And round it all out with 365 brand condiments, chips and dips at everyday low prices. Whole Foods Market, make your summer sizzle. Hey babes, it's Paris Hilton. So I was checking my points balance in the Hilton Honors app the other day, and yeah, I've got about a billion, which feels excessive, even for me. Just kidding, you can never have too many Hilton Honors points. And I want to do something iconic this summer,…
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