Fall 09 with OLIVIA WILDE

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

Since your parents are notable, respected journalists, I imagine dinner table conversation growing up was anything but ordinary. Did your folks share with you their work experiences covering stories in the Middle East, Nicaragua, Cambodia and Haiti — to name a mere few — or did they try and shield you from the happenings in the world?
No, our childhoods were not normal — unless running around your house in your mom’s burka and gas mask is considered normal. I remember watching sitcoms and not understanding the family structures at all. Why was the dad sitting on the couch while the mom made dinner? And where were their cool bulletproof vests? I always knew they were cool, and I was extremely proud of them, which is why I’d bring their awards to show-and-tell,
until the ill-advised juggling incident, which ended with my mom’s Emmy losing it’s shiny golden ball, and which I am still working on replacing. They instilled in us a sense of awareness of the world’s struggles and our responsibility to stay active in the effort to spread truth and ease suffering. I went to Haiti as a three-year-old and fell in love with it, which is why I am now committed to supporting relief efforts there. Artists for Peace and Justice, an organization I am on the board of, along with Paul Haggis, Maria Bello, Josh Brolin and other extremely inspiring and awesome folks, is working to support the work of an incredible priest and doctor named Father Rick, who has built (and continues to build) hospitals and orphanages in the slums of Haiti, not to mention burying the dead children who perish needlessly by the hundreds every month of malnutrition. Half my life is dedicated to humanitarian causes. This definitely has something to do with watching my mother’s piece on Somalia when I was eight years old and seeing starving children my age, bloated and helpless. I’m incredibly grateful that they didn’t completely shield us from suffering in the world.

What life-lessons have you learned from them?
My grandfather, Claude Cockburn, was a brilliant [Irish] journalist who was blacklisted for being an anti-Fascist. My favorite quote of his was, “Believe nothing until it has officially been denied.” They taught us to tirelessly seek the truth, never underestimate ourselves and always take risks.

How has their work shaped your perspective on journalists and the media we have today? What about Hollywood media?
I respect journalists immensely. What makes me angry are those who I often see on television, faithfully reading a teleprompter between makeup and hair checks and blindly spewing out the network’s daily talking points with no real sense of dedication to investigation or responsible truth-seeking.
I think the blogosphere has been good for journalism to an extent, as it’s democratized the medium, though there’s no longer a fact-checking entity to protect the public from flat-out lies, so we have even more of a reason to research before we make judgments. I also find that I’ve become a sort of headline whore. I spend 10 minutes in between setups on House, for example, scanning the headlines, and suddenly I know that a bill has been passed, another marriage-“protecting” Republican has cheated on his wife, a woman gave birth to a Chihuahua and scientists have confirmed, once again, that we are committing mass suicide by eating junk food, but I really have learned nothing in-depth.

Why did you choose to become involved in 18 in ’08? What did you learn about communicating political messages with younger generations of voters? Did it change your perspective on your own political efficacy?
[The group] 18 in ’08 is a great organization run by a student named David Burstein who decided to prove that his generation, which also happens to be mine, is anything but apathetic and lazy. I was inspired by his well-researched and fascinating documentary [of the same title], and so I offered to help get the word out. The organization is nonpartisan, and they travel the country, empowering their peers and registering them to vote. I am proud to support their efforts. Obama was elected by young Americans who knocked on millions of doors and demanded to be heard. Now that we proved the naysayers wrong, it’s up to young people to continue to speak up and retain their presence in the political process.

Do you think the great disconnect between youth and political involvement has been mended? How can the gap continue to close?
I was blown away by the enthusiasm, passion and devotion that I recognized in the exhausted but fiery eyes of the student volunteers I met while working for the Obama campaign as a surrogate last year. The misconception that young people are not interested in politics has been obliterated by the ’08 presidential race. And while young people also turned out in record numbers for the previous election, last year’s display of civic involvement broke every stereotype and cliché about apathetic youth once and for all. Many young people discovered their passion for politics for the first time, and now they must continue to respect their responsibility to serve their country by volunteering and voting, locally and nationally.

Did you get to personally meet the president? If so, what was your initial reaction?
I met him when he was Sen. Obama, the long shot who you were crazy to work for if you wanted a Democrat to win. He held a small meeting for artists in Hollywood in October of ’07, and I brought my husband and [actor] Kal Penn. We had the chance to chat with the guest of honor privately, and he approached us by saying, “What questions can I answer for you? What are you concerned about?” I was blown away by him that evening, and by the time we left, Kal and I had signed up to go to Iowa to work on the campaign, and the adventures that followed restored my faith in my country and my generation.

Being voted the No. 1 sexiest woman on Maxim’s top 100 List is a fairly huge acknowledgement. What was your husband’s reaction? What does being sexy mean?
It’s weirdly uncomfortable to be awarded a title I never worked toward. It’s not like the magazine held an international sexiest audition, and I showed up with a headshot, a bikini and some flexible dance moves. It was a total surprise, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t honored and really flattered when I heard about it. That being said, it’s not something I want to cling to. I think that would be dangerous. I am grateful, but also mindful of the fact that I’d still like to have a career once I have moved onto the AARP hot list. My husband was extremely proud. His exact quote was something along the lines of, “Well, duh.” His marital point meter went off the charts for that one.

Which has been your sexiest role so far? Princess Inanna in Year One, Thirteen on House or being a princess in real life through your husband’s royal lineage?
I think Thirteen is damn sexy because she’s so unpretentious and smart, and she has balls of steel. The character exemplifies the type of woman I find sexy: She is interesting, mysterious, funny, intelligent and strong. I’m hoping she’ll rub off on me at least a little bit over the years.

You exude a no-bullshit, no apologies confidence in your performances and in your interviews, and I assume in your everyday life. To what do you attribute this? How do you wake up every morning? Singing? Grouchy? In your lover’s arms?
Who has time for bullshit? I see no point in sugar coating. If there’s anything I’ve learned in this business so far, it’s that the only ones who last are the irreplaceable ones, the ones who forge an imprint so unique that no one else could fill their slot. So pretending to be someone else, or changing yourself to fit a mold, gets you nowhere fast. I wake up hungry and caffeine deficient. Luckily, I live next to about three dozen coffee shops well stocked with blood-sugar-regulating morning treats. To those who say things like, “Oh, I don’t eat anything until lunch,” I don’t think we are descendants of the same species.

In a business where strong married relationships are a rarity, how would you describe your partnership with your husband? What was that moment you realized this is the man?
We have been married six years, which in Hollywood marks the golden anniversary and is considered to be record-breaking. I am lucky to be married to a very patient and secure man who isn’t afraid to be married to a successful woman with a tendency to spontaneously suggest 2 a.m. pasta and chocolate parties. Recently, he asked me to name the 100 things I want to do before I die, and I remembered again why we fell in love when we realized that more than half of our goals and dreams overlapped.

If you could meet anyone in the world tomorrow who would it be?
[Neurologist] Oliver Sacks. I want him to teach me everything about the human brain.

If you could go anywhere in the world tomorrow where would it be?
To Gambia. I am helping to build solar-powered medical clinics there for a great organization called Power Up Gambia. I am dying to go and meet the people in the villages who will be served by the new clinics, which will finally provide 24-hour power and water so that caesarean sections no longer need to be performed by candlelight, and vital, life-saving equipment can actually be used.

If you could have one question answered tomorrow what would it be?
What can I do to be the most useful to the world during my lifetime?

What comes next for you tomorrow? How about in 50 years? What are your long-term goals?
Tomorrow, I’d like to actually make it to the gym before work without getting sidetracked by that Panini place with the picture of the fresh baked bread on the window. This week, I’m finishing a huge movie that has forged some seriously new and exciting territory for me. I am now a part of sci-fi history after making Tron 2, and I’m thrilled with the experience. I have accomplished one of my childhood dreams: to learn to fight like a ninja (in heels!), and I’ve created a character unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s pretty fantastic to walk off a set after four months of insanely hard work on a great movie and go back to my job on House, which I love so much. As for 50 years from now, I would like to live on a lake with a dock and look the part of the ultimate nurturer (a la Diane Wiest) and have tons of small children riding around my sustainable vegetable garden on miniature horses I have rescued from the local farmers market, while reflecting on my last 10 great films, last year’s fulfilling and fascinating Broadway production, the cookbook I just published, my most recent trip to an exotic land with my husband who is still my best friend, and of course, the [impact and] difference I’ve made in the world.

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