Fall 09 with OLIVIA WILDE

By: Interview by Sonja Magdevski | Photographed by Tao Ruspoli | August 05, 2009 | Film Lifestyle Talent

Inspiration can be found in the strangest places. True story. I traveled for two days, flying over two continents, transferred planes three times in four different cities only to find myself sitting in the Republic of Macedonia bleary-eyed and over-fatigued staring at a computer screen in my uncle’s apartment in the capital city of Skopje, reading e-mail and contemplating the unfinished work I still needed to complete. As I fumbled through the notes in front of me, my 17-year-old cousin peered over my shoulder eager to see what I was writing about. “Olivia Wilde?” he asked surprisingly in his thick Macedonian accent, which actually sounded more like “Olivija Vilde?” “You mean the girl from the O.C. and House?” he replied more excitedly now. “How do you know her?” I asked. “Oh yeah, she was voted No. 1 sexiest woman in Maxim’s top 100,” he said casually before he walked away.

I figured the worldly Ms. Wilde would appreciate the impact of her global reach, even here in a southeastern European country very few people even know exist. Descending as she does from an esteemed line of journalists that includes her mother, father, uncles and grandfather who have traveled the world seeking truth and justice, Wilde has a keen understanding of the media’s power. While she says she is flattered to be at the top of Maxim’s list, she is careful in redirecting the acknowledgement toward her more substantial goals, namely a lifelong career as a thriving actress who has made an equally successful contribution toward the numerous civic and humanitarian causes to which she says she already dedicates half her time.

Already at the age of 25, she has acquired prominent television and film roles, including previous appearances on the aforementioned O.C., her current role as Dr. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley on House, her most recent performances in Fix, directed by her filmmaker-husband of six years, Tao Ruspoli, Year One, with Jack Black and Michael Cera, and her upcoming role as a bad-ass high-heeled ninja in Tron 2 slated for release in 2011. In the interview that follows, Wilde speaks about her work, inspirations, aspirations, the love of her life and the need for composure when driving on the 405. It’s nice to know the sexiest woman of 2009 knows how to keep a level head even if it requires the occasional chocolate party at 2 a.m.

You have been quoted as saying that you’ve wanted to act since the age of two — what happened at that time to make such an impact on your life and create such a lasting impression?
Actually, before I made the decision to become an actor, I was totally committed to becoming a rapper, as well as Michael Jackson’s lead backup dancer. But instead of taking the rap world by storm as a beat-boxing six-year-old with some fresh dance moves and a wardrobe full of pink spandex unitards, I set my sights on Hollywood and started taking my training very seriously. It was while watching a live taping of Saturday Night Live in New York when I was 10 that I knew, without a doubt, that acting was the career for me. Incidentally, Janet Jackson was the musical guest, and at the after-party I was introduced to her backup dancers, one of whom was soon to become the phenomenon known as J.Lo. That was also the night I lost a brownie-eating contest with the late, great Chris Farley — quite the life-changing evening.

What steps did you take to begin your career? Did anyone try and dissuade you from pursuing this path?
My family encouraged me to pursue acting from the moment I expressed interest. I started taking classes as soon as I was old enough. My first role was Eeyore in Winnie and the Pooh in the Georgetown Day School Kindergarten production of 1990.

Along the way did you ever have moments of doubt?
My mother was always incredibly encouraging, and I know I couldn’t have built the confidence necessary to survive this career path if she hadn’t constantly reinforced my belief in myself. I clearly remember her sitting me down as a 10-year-old and telling me that many people would try to discourage me from acting and that all I had to do was prove them wrong. That had a huge effect on me. She is a fantastic mother. I also have a wonderful godmother, Laurie Frank, who I would visit in L.A. as a teenager, and who would always introduce me to people as a future movie star. Silly and embarrassing as it was at the time, she was forcing me to visualize my goals, which is, of course, the first step to achieving them. It was the support of my family and friends that brought me to the point I’ve reached today.

Who has been your biggest supporter in your endeavors?
Well, now I’m lucky to be married to the most supportive person in the world. My husband, Tao, has seen in me in my slumped and self-pitying moments of doubt, and he has never failed to drag me back to reality and remind me of how lucky I am (“Hey, you still have all your limbs!”) and how much I have yet to achieve. I could say “Hey baby, I think I’m going to become a neuroscientist in my free time!” To which he would undoubtedly respond, “Fantastic! You’d be so great at that!”

What has been your most challenging experience in regard to acting and filmmaking?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure getting rejected 900 times a year builds some serious character, but it can also cause you to throw your cell phone out the window on the 405 in a fit of frustrated rage while you curse the kneecaps of the person who did not get rejected this time. I sometimes think I should have been a chef, so that I’d have a perfectly good excuse to eat pastries all day while running my successful organic, cruelty-free restaurant, and then I watch an episode of Top Chef and realize that it’s just as brutal a career choice as acting. It’s no easy task to reveal your deepest emotions in front of a room full of executives only to hear you’re too short anyway. But hey, that’s the sport I chose to play, so here I am, and my skin is getting thicker by the day. Biggest piece of advice (other than to keep quarters in your car at all times) is to learn to laugh at humiliation. Carrie Fisher does it best.

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