Actor Olivia Munn has revealed that a TV director on her breakout showThe Newsroomallegedly tried to ruin her movie career. Munn played financial correspondent Sloan Sabbith throughout the HBO political drama’s three seasons, during which her character developed a romantic relationship with Don Keefer, an executive producer of its fictional news program.
The NewsroomremainsMunn’s best TV show, but her experience making the series wasn’t all smooth sailing. Speaking to fellow actor Dax Shepard on his podcastArmchair Expert, she explained thatone of the TV show’s directors tried to prevent her being cast in a moviefollowing a professional disagreement over herNewsroomcharacter. Munn recounted what happened as follows:
“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 onThe Newsroomyou were late all the time and really combative…’
I was like, ‘I know who this is. I know who this is,’ and he just was trying to bash me…
I will always remember that, just because of our conflicts of how we approached the role [of Sloan Sabbith], he wanted to ruin my chances of getting anything else.”
What Olivia Munn Has Shared About Her Experience In The Newsroom
While speaking on Dax Shepard’s podcast, Munn recalledthe director of oneNewsroomepisode wanting to change things up with her character. This move came despite the actor receiving positive feedback about her performance as Sloan Sabbith duringThe Newsroom’s pilot episodeand the first season of the show. Munn recalled:
“There was a storyline where my character and Tom Sadoski’s character are dating and falling in love. [The director] kept trying to force me to carry that storyline only on my side. Like, I’m in the middle of working, and I’ve got this new Bloomberg machine, and I’m so excited, and he’s like, ‘Can you look up at him and smile?’ And I’m like, ‘Why? She’s busy doing this!’ [The director said], ‘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!'”
She went on to explain thatthe director told her she was coming off as “really forceful and strong.“Munn admitted she was fine with presenting that way, but she apparently heard about it later on:
“And then I got on knock on my trailer from one of my producers, and he said, ‘Hey, I see that there’s an issue, and I’ve heard from the director that there’s a bit of an issue and you guys are kind of butting heads.'”
It was after this incident that the actor heard about thisNewsroomdirector seemingly attempting to stop her from being cast in a prospective movie role. Contrary to the director’s supposed claims, Munn told Shepard she was never late to the set ofThe Newsroom. In any case,she still got the movie role she was vying for.
What Olivia Munn Has Done Since The Newsroom
She’s Become A Movie Star, Before Returning Her Focus To TV
After starring in the main cast ofThe Newsroom,Olivia Munn became a major Hollywood movie star. She appeared as the mutant Psylocke in 2016’sX-Men: Apocalypse, and she snagged a lead role in Shane Black’s 2018 sci-fi movieThe Predator.
Munn has also become a prominent advocate for women’s rights in the entertainment industry. It was thanks to her efforts that ascene inThe Predatorfeaturing a registered sex offender was cutfrom the film.
More recently,Munn has shifted her focus back to the small screen. She has starred in an episode ofTales of the Walking Deadand appears alongside Jon Hamm in thecast of crime comedy-drama seriesYour Friends & Neighbors.
Munn’s acting career continues to go from strength to strength. It remains to be seen whether her latest TV show can topThe Newsroom, but no one has managed to stop her excelling as a movie star.
