Olivia Munn is a 34-year-old actress and believes that despite significant successes in her profession, the best is yet to come. Munn’s lack of affectation and self-consciousness, as well as her effortless honesty and refreshing lack of pretense, contribute to her likeability.
Combine those attributes with brains, attractiveness, acting chops, and a charming sense of humor, and it’s no surprise that her face time on screens large and small is increasing. Or she’s getting opportunities that even more seasoned actresses don’t usually get, like a production deal with CBS, which has invited her to start creating television projects.
Olivia Munn’s ambition is to create television shows rather than star them
There are already several celebrities to consider working behind the camera. In other words, to work as a film producer or director for a film. Olivia Munn, the half-Asian actress, is taking a step further by producing a show to work on behind the camera rather than star in.
She said, “There are a lot of talented people I’ve worked with over the years, and I’m meeting up with them now. They’re clever and smart, and we’re looking at opportunities to work together. It will be fun to collaborate with them, and it will give them a platform and opportunity as well.
She added, “I’m hiring executives right now. I don’t have a name for the production company yet, but I have some ideas. But I’m very excited to get behind the camera and try to create shows – not for me to be in, just to create. It’s an amazing opportunity that doesn’t come along very often.”
Olivia Munn’s response in an ongoing conversation toward the lack of outstanding roles for women in Hollywood
The thought of entering the Hollywood spotlight is already one of the dream-like opportunities to be achieved by a person wanting to be in it. However, is it true that women lack great roles in Hollywood? Will Olivia be focusing on that? She answered the question with, “Not especially. It’s always hard to find interesting parts, no matter if you’re male or female.”
And so she continued, “A lot of male actors will tell you it’s hard to find great stuff. And it’s not about great stuff because that’s all subjective and relative. It’s about what you think is great for you. This was really because the opportunity just came up, and I’ve always wanted to do it, and I’m excited to become a producer and create.”
Between comedy and drama, Olivia Munn seems to make either role appears easy
There is a significant difference between drama and comedy, and the ability to switch between those genres requires great skill to be able to portray the character. In Olivia’s case, she seems to glide effortlessly to either role and make it look easy for the viewers.
She said, “In every drama, there has to be a sense of humor and levity in there somewhere.”
“I think it’s more the opportunities that I’ve been given, from The Daily Show and then going to Sorkin and Soderbergh, which is more dramatic. You ask any actor, “Can you do drama? Can you do comedy?” and you say yes and hope you can do it on the day.”
She continued, “You just want to be able to work, whatever those opportunities are that come our way. “Can you fly a plane?” “Sure!” The things that have happened in my career have really been about an opportunity and me taking it and putting myself up for these moments and hoping that I don’t mess up too much.”
With all that Sorkin dialogue and lots of screen time – Olivia Munn answers how she deals with the rigors of a weekly TV show
Aaron Sorkin cast her as fiery brainiac anchorwoman Sloan Sabbith in the critically acclaimed television series The Newsroom. With the challenging role, Olivia Munn answers how she was able to deal with the rigors of a weekly TV show.
She said, “I was lucky because my character didn’t have to be in the background that much. Sloan’s office in the newsroom was upstairs, so a lot of the time, whenever I was on the set, I was shooting scenes. Some of the other actors had to be in the background a lot – their characters were answering phones or running around.
She continued, “I didn’t have that much hanging-around time. [Co-star] Dev Patel and I are really close, and we both have ADD, while the other actors have such patience. They’ll sit there with a book.”
Moreover, Munn initially gained public attention in 2010, when Jon Stewart hired her as a correspondent for his massively hit The Daily Show. After Munn departed a year later, the increase in her profile prompted calls from people like Steven Soderbergh. The latter cast her as Channing Tatum’s character’s girlfriend in the popular film Magic Mike.
Olivia also shares her activity in her leisure time while waiting to film the scene. She said, “We hang out outside. And there’s a lot of eating that goes on, which is not the best if you’re an actor. My weight fluctuates on a weekly basis. I’m trying to get to a place where I’m better about what I eat. On The Newsroom, they had two different sizes of jeans for me all the time.”
“An episode would be shot over two weeks, but one week I’ll be in smaller size jeans and the next in a bigger one. I guess most people couldn’t tell, but you can always see things yourself,” she added.
And then she continued, “I’d ask the wardrobe people if I could wear a cardigan, and they’d tell me we already shot part of the scene when I’m not in a cardigan. Or I’ll ask if I can sit down the whole time. I need to have more self-control over what I eat.”
Furthermore, Munn recently appeared in the crime-caper comedy Mortdecai alongside Johnny Depp and Gwyneth Paltrow. She has just completed the sequel to the famous Ride Along starring Kevin Hart, Ice Cube, and Ken Jeong.
Olivia Munn talks about her lifestyle and exercise routine; Is Munn, a calorie-counting sort of person?
One night when Munn was about to be pictured in body-hugging fashion clothing, including Spanx-like hot pants, Olivia Munn eats a lot of rocky road ice cream, something very few other actors do.
She reasoned, “I’m not a model,” she laughed. “They can’t get mad at me if I don’t wear the clothes.” (She does put on the clothing for the shoot, and there is no sign of the prior night’s sugar binge.)
Moreover, Munn desired to do what other people do to appear great, such as yoga, pilates, and talking about diets. Munn, on the other hand, remarked that she is not the kind to go practice yoga and cut back on carbohydrates.
She said, “There are people who look amazing, and they go to yoga and pilates and talk about their diets, and they look great all the time. I wish I could do that. I tell myself that I’m going to start doing yoga every single day and that I’m not going to eat carbs anymore because they make me bloated and tired.”
She continued, “And then I tell myself, “Hey, you’re not a model! You’re an actress! Eating makes you more relatable!” Of course, I know I’m just giving myself an excuse to eat ice cream. Yesterday, before this shoot, I wasn’t stressed out or tired or sick.”
“There was no reason for me to have to eat the rocky road ice cream. But in my head, I tell myself it doesn’t matter because I’m not a model, and they Photoshop everything anyway. The reality is, we don’t walk around life with an Instagram filter on,” she added.
Munn made a straight point regarding avoiding all the eyes of pure judgment just to please the people even if the person isn’t comfortable with all such.
And so she said, “Although maybe we should. I should ask everyone to wear Instagram filter glasses, so we all look amazing all the time. In reality, though, instead of feeling bad, I should really just be as healthy as I should be,” she stated.
Olivia Munn about setting goals for herself and her career
Olivia Munn admitted that she doesn’t set many objectives because she is concerned she won’t achieve them anyway. She explained further, “I don’t always do a lot of goalsetting, only because I’m afraid, “What if I don’t make them?” It’s easier if you kind of know what your goals are instead of just completely setting them out there.”
“It’s too hard to set career goals, especially in a career when a lot of the time it’s not up to you – it’s up to producers, directors, writers, the audience. If I don’t make the goals, then I don’t have to feel bad about not achieving them,” she added.
Olivia Munn on her dream to be an actress and how it started
Munn has seemingly been inclined to be an actress for her portrayal in her roles. When asked if she always wanted to be an actress, she answered, “Always. I grew up in a family of five siblings. I’m the second youngest. I loved making everyone laugh and impersonating teachers. If we all got into trouble at home and were sent to our rooms, I’d be the one to get everyone to laugh.”
She continued, “I’d make everyone re-enact an entire movie. “Let’s all do Star Wars“! I’d be Han Solo, but my brother would tell me I was Princess Leia. I just loved being able to play around. I always wanted to do it, but of course, you never think you’re going to be able to.”
Olivia Munn answers the question about “do you feel” regarding whether she had that “it” moment and if ever she feels secure with her career.
Munn explicitly indicated that she is unsure of what her moment is and that she may not have gotten it because she is unsure. She stated, “I think if you don’t know what my moment is, then clearly I haven’t had it. I’ve had moments that have definitely changed my life and helped my career, but it’s not been “the moment.”
She continued, “You can look at people who’ve had that, and you know what it is. It happens to very few people, and you can name who they are. But the day that Jon Stewart asked me to be on The Daily Show was a huge moment in my life.”
“It allowed my career to open up into a different world and gave me the opportunity to be seen by some of these other people and to show them some of the things I was capable of. Even just being in The Newsroom allowed me to be seen in a different way by people. But I haven’t had that pivotal thing yet,” she added.
Munn was also asked whether she feels secure with her life and work, and she answered, “Yes. Yes, I do feel secure. Because I have work and I have opportunities and my production company, and I’m in a position where I can financially make decisions where I can and cannot do certain things. I’ve been working long enough in my life that I feel secure financially.”
Olivia on her experience of living in Japan when she was younger and how the country shaped her as a person
Munn revealed how her family moved around places in Japan when she was younger. She also indicated that they lived in Tokyo, Utah, and Oklahoma. Also, Munn shared her experience living in Japan for all those years. She said, “I come from a military family, so we moved around a lot. We lived in Tokyo, then Utah, and moved back to Oklahoma when I was 16.”
And so she continued, “For me, living in Japan made me more comfortable going to new places. It helped me establish a centre within myself and a strong sense of self. I think when people have the opportunity to grow up in a different country than where they’re from, it makes them more settled in their world.”
“Otherwise, your sense of the world is only as big as you see and feel it. Now, I have a sense of how small I am in the scope of the whole world,” Munn added.
Munn’s fluency in Japanese and whether it opens many doors of opportunities for her for it
Olivia Munn admitted that being fluent in mentioned language didn’t give much opportunity to her; however, there were moments when she was asked about writing Japanese. She stated, “No, not really. But I was lucky on The Newsroom because Sorkin wrote an amazing episode where I could. He asked me if he could put a few Japanese words in, and I said sure.”
And she continued, “Then he said, “Do you mind if it’s a sentence or two?” and of course, that was fine. And then I get the script, and its full-on massive dialogue. Sorkin’s dialogue is hard enough to do in English – imagine doing it in Japanese. He wrote it out in “Sorkin,” then put in parentheses “in Japanese.” I had to go back and forth between English and Japanese.”
However, despite that, Munn admitted that she was happy to use it. And she also said, “Even though I’m half Asian, most people didn’t know that I could speak a second language.”
Olivia Munn’s struggles in trying to establish herself as a person
Despite her rising star, the half-Asian actress – her mother is of Chinese origin from Vietnam – believes she has a long way to go before truly finding her place in the chaotic world of entertainment.
However, before setting her foot to where she is now, what were the struggles she encountered along the way? She explained, “I’d go out for so many auditions, for everything. And then I’d be told, “You’re too Asian” or “You’re too white.” I remember someone telling me, “Don’t feel bad. One day they won’t be trying to match you to fit with anyone else. You’ll just be hired for you.”
And then she continued, “So you can’t help but get frustrated. That’s part of it all. There’s always competition in any business. And all it takes is one role. Not even necessarily a great role. Just one job that makes you feel like you’re a working actor. One job can turn your whole life around.”