Olivia Munn Claims A Director Tried To Ruin Her Career
On a June 30 episode of Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, the Your Friends and Neighbors actor said one of the directors from the HBO series tried to sabotage her career by claiming she was challenging to work with.
Olivia starred as economist Sloan Sabbith across all three seasons of Aaron Sorkin's 2012 political drama.
She explained that when Season 2 started, she noticed that certain directors focused on her. "What are you fucking with me for?" she recalled, before singling out one director she seemingly butted heads with.
Directors for Season 2 include Alan Poul (3 episodes), Jeremy Podeswa, Lesli Linka Glatter, Carl Franklin, Julian Farino, Anthony Hemingway, and Jason Ensler (1 episode each).
"There was a storyline where my character and Tom Sadoski's character are dating and falling in love," Olivia said. "[The director] kept trying to force me to carry that storyline only on my side. He's like, 'Can you look out at him and smile?' And I'm like, 'Why, she's busy doing this?' Or, 'Can you stop and snuggle up to him or flirt with him?' Or, 'Can you give him a kiss?' And I'm like, 'This is in the middle of working.'"
Tom Sadoski portrayed Don Keefer, a former executive producer of the series' main News Night show, who has a developing relationship with Olivia's character on the show.
In the podcast, Olivia didn't name the director, but she alleged that they were speaking negatively about her to other industry professionals in a way that could damage her reputation as an actor.
Olivia continued, "I was on the one-yard line for the movie, and my manager calls me and says, 'Hey, you're gonna get the role. But first, I guess there's another director who they know, and he says that on The Newsroom, you were late all the time and really combative.'"
Olivia was adamant that the claims were untrue, explaining that she was never late and that the conflict was embellished. "I lived seven minutes from [Sunset Grower Studios]. I was never late. I was like, 'I know who this is.' He just was trying to bash me. And I told my reps, 'Please tell the directors this,'" she said. "I still got the role. But I will always remember that just because of our conflicts of how we approached a role, he wanted to ruin my chances of getting anything else."
"Obviously, when you start in this business, there is the hope of making your mark and getting to a certain place," Olivia said. "But this kind of dynamic that I experienced for so long has really changed. The way I think about my career and what I want — I truly want to do great work that I'm happy with, and I want to live an easy, happy life."
Watch Olivia's interview on the podcast.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Lena Dunham responds to criticism of lack of diversity on ‘Girls'
Lena Dunham knows 'Girls' has its flaws. The actress and producer, 39, addressed the lack of diversity on her hit HBO series in a new interview with The Independent. 'I think one of the profound issues around 'Girls' was that there was so little real estate for women in television [then] that if you had a show called 'Girls,' which is such a monolithic name, it sounds like it's describing all the girls in all the places,' Dunham explained. 6 Lena Dunham in 'Girls.' AP 'And so if it's not reflecting a multitude of experiences, I understand how that would be really disappointing to people,' she added. Dunham was the mastermind behind 'Girls,' which followed a group of four young women (played by Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke and Zosia Mamet) who live in New York. The series, which starred mostly white actors, ran from 2012 to 2017. 6 Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, Allison Williams, Lena Dunham in 'Girls.' Dunham told The Independent that she 'liked the conversation around 'Girls'' because it was important to have, and now she's used those lessons on her new Netflix series, 'Too Much,' that has a more diverse cast. 'The thing I have really come to believe is that one of the most important things is not just diversity in front of the camera, but it's diversity behind the camera,' Dunham said. 6 Lena Dunham attends 'Storytellers: Lena Dunham with Michelle Buteau' at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. Getty Images for Tribeca Festival 'As a producer, one of my goals is to bring a lot of different voices into a position where they can tell their story,' she shared. Dunham previously defended 'Girls' from its critics the year it came out. 6 Lena Dunham in 'Girls.' HBO 'I am a half-Jew, half-WASP, and I wrote two Jews and two WASPs,' she told NPR's 'Fresh Air' in 2012. 'Something I wanted to avoid was tokenism in casting.' She continued: 'If I had one of the four girls — if, for example, she was African American, I feel like, not that the experience of an African American girl and a white girl are drastically different, but there has to be specificity to that experience [that] I wasn't able to speak to.' 6 Allison Williams, Lena Dunham in 'Girls.' In a recent interview with The Times, Dunham spoke about how she took an 'international break' from acting after 'Girls' ended. 'I didn't really understand how to distinguish between what was and wasn't necessary for the public. I felt confused about how I was supposed to respond,' she recalled. 'I thought if I explain properly who I am, or give a glimpse of who I am, people are going to have a different perception of me, that we would be friends. But no one cares — and that's fine.' 6 Lena Dunham attends the 'Too Much' UK screening in London on June 23. Getty Images 'I always joke that I need a T-shirt that says, 'I survived New York media in 2012 and all I got was this lousy T-shirt,'' Dunham joked, adding, 'And all I got was this lousy PTSD.'
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Review: ‘Twelfth Night' at Oak Park Festival Theatre is more comedy than love story
Mistaken identities, unrequited love, ridiculous pranks: 'Twelfth Night' combines many quintessential ingredients of Shakespeare's comedies, making it a promising choice for Oak Park Festival Theatre to celebrate its 50th anniversary season. Artistic director Peter G. Andersen's staging nails some of the comedic moments, especially when the physical comedy ramps up late in the first act, but the passion is unfortunately lacking in the tangled romantic mix-ups at the play's core. Performed on an open-air stage in Oak Park's Austin Gardens, this production evokes the play's Mediterranean setting with a hint of Southwestern Americana. Evan Frank's scenic design juxtaposes a sky-blue backdrop with vibrant orange and red, plus pops of pink from costume designer Taylor Pfenning to complement the musical references to Chappell Roan's 'Pink Pony Club' (sound design by Jake Sorgen). Some issues with the sound system on opening night were ironed out before too long, making it easier to focus on the high jinks happening onstage. Setting up the most classic love triangle of Shakespeare's canon, Duke Orsino of Illyria (Evan Ozer) pines for the noblewoman Olivia (Madison Kiernan), while she is smitten with the duke's page, Cesario. But 'Cesario' is really Viola (Ama Kuwonu), a young woman who's been separated from her twin brother in a shipwreck and disguises herself for protection when she washes up in Illyria. Oh, and Viola immediately falls for Orsino. Until Shakespeare neatly sorts things out toward the end, the pairs that share the most stage time represent one-sided affections, so perhaps it's unfair to expect chemistry on the level of last year's 'Romeo and Juliet.' Still, the lovers' sense of yearning and jealousy just isn't that palpable. Ozer's Orsino comes across as self-absorbed and misogynistic (a fair reading), while Kiernan's Olivia is mercurial and frankly a bit whiny, an interpretation that plays more for laughs than sympathy. In contrast, Viola is earnest and grounded, though Kuwonu's understated performance makes it hard to fully feel Viola's grief and worry over her missing brother. Fortunately, the comedic characters liven things up, especially Josh Carpenter's performance as Malvolio, steward to Olivia and the brunt of a humiliating prank. With his affected British accent and stiff bearing, this Malvolio seems like a fussier, vainer cousin of Jeeves, the level-headed butler of P.G. Wodehouse's farcical novels. His bossy attitude soon puts him in the crosshairs of a mischievous quartet: Olivia's drunken uncle, Sir Toby Belch (Kevin Theis), and his feckless buddy, Sir Andrew Aguecheek (J Cody Hunt), along with two members of Olivia's household staff, Maria (Julia Rowley) and Fabian (Kason Chesky). With Maria as the mastermind, these pranksters convince Malvolio that Olivia is in love with him, setting him up for the infamous yellow stockings scene, one of the cringiest attempts at wooing to ever grace the stage. Pfenning's costume design really adds to the comedy here. Malvolio confidently makes his entrance wearing a hot pink romper that looks plucked from a 1980s exercise video, with yellow spandex shorts revealing a generous length of flesh above his knee-high yellow socks. Carpenter hams it up with high kicks, athletic lunges and even a suggestive twerk to emphasize the most well-known line in Maria's forged love letter: 'Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them' (emphasis added). In previous productions such as 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' Andersen introduced gender-swapped characters and/or homoerotic overtones that felt both modern and also very much in the spirit of Shakespeare's texts, which often play with gender and its associated power dynamics. Andersen continues this trend with 'Twelfth Night,' portraying a romance between Viola's brother, Sebastian (Noah Lash), and Antonio (Nathan Hile), the sea captain who saves him after the shipwreck. While this is a valid reading of Antonio's ardent speeches, it does leave a loose end in an otherwise tidy bow. Soon after arriving in Illyria, Sebastian marries Olivia, who initially mistakes him for Cesario/Viola but readily transfers her affections when she learns his true identity. With Sebastian's betrayal going unresolved, the heartbroken Antonio joins the vengeful Malvolio in adding a bitter note to the play's happy ending. Ultimately, the Antonio/Sebastian subplot feels like more of a distraction than an addition to the play's already messy central relationships and complex gender dynamics. If this 'Twelfth Night' would take its cue from the sultry summer weather and ratchet up the heat between Orsino, Olivia and Viola, it could achieve quite the potent mix of comedy and 'Twelfth Night' (2.5 stars) When: Through Aug. 16 Where: Oak Park Festival Theatre in Austin Gardens, 167 Forest Ave, Oak Park Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes Tickets: $40; children under 12 free; pay-what-you-will (walk-ups only) on Wednesdays and Thursdays;
Hypebeast
8 hours ago
- Hypebeast
SR_A Season 2 Blurs the Lines Between Formal and Loungewear
Summary SR_A, under the creative direction ofSamuel Ross, has unveiled its SEASON 2 Main collection, a presentation that explores a vision for a new generation. Staged at Ross's private estate in the U.K, the collection aims to blur the lines between formalwear, movement-oriented pieces and sophisticated loungewear. Relaxed tailoring is prominent, with pieces crafted from linen and silk, offering a fluid and comfortable fit. Elevated outerwear, incorporating silks and velvets, provides statement pieces that balance billowing silhouettes with the use of fine materials. This emphasis on comfort and utility is central to Ross's vision, as he seeks to create clothing that moves beyond traditional categories and embraces a more holistic approach to dressing. Crafted entirely in British ateliers, the collection welcomed luxurious materials such as compact wools, soft velvet, exquisite silk and crisp linens — all contributing to a sense of leisure, ease and artistry. Each look is grounded by sculptural accessories — veg-tan leather utility bags, waxed cotton outerwear and loafers in calf suede and vegan crocodile. The show's original score, also composed by Ross, deepens the introspective mood. With declarations like 'We must paint how the future will look, and function,' SEASON 2 positions fashion as a Trojan horse — an agent of quiet rebellion and coalition-building. More than a study in tailoring or textile, the collection is a manifesto for a unified future, where movement, memory, and meaning converge.
