Olivia Munn is a cerebral being.
It’s not something you read every day but why shouldn't it be? Does it have to do with the fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous, exotic as hell, has a killer bod and great gams?
Well, in that case, prepared to be schooled by Munn.
“The way you look has nothing to do with how intelligent you are, “quipped the smokin’ hot 33 year-old who plays Sloan Sabbith, a financial reporter on the much-talked about HBO series The Newsroom.
Speaking to a room full of journalists and then again at a round-table interview at the Four Seasons Hotel when she was in town recently, the actress, dressed in a printed Monique Lhuillier dress and a pair of Christian Louboutin heels, added, “The great thing about Sloan is that she doesn’t define herself by the way you see her. People ask me if it’s hard playing an attractive person who is also an economist. To me, it’s such a silly question.”
Munn admitted to playing Sloan in a way that’s very much “like a man.”
“I really love when women tell me that I don’t play Sloan like overtly strong characters but with an inner strength. Many women are looking for a female character on TV or in pop culture that just exists [in her own way] and isn’t always trying too hard to prove herself in a man’s world.”
According to Munn, instead of trying to focus on their aggressive go-getter ways when outdoing men, this in turn allows viewers to focus on their intelligence and inner strength.
Embracing her Asian roots
The self-confessed geek of Chinese, German and Irish descent who calls herself “awkward” also showed off her goofy side when she shared an anecdote about her “very Asian mother”.
“Mummy love watching you on TV, but Mummy TV so small … you buy Mummy LCD!” Munn joked while impersonating her mum with a strong “Asian accent that becomes more pronounced when she needs something”.
Mummy jokes aside, Munn more than embraces her Asian roots, “That’s [Asians] who I connect with the most, that’s who I feel most comfortable with and I bring a lot of that to my roles.”
That Asian connection also helped her nail her scenes with veteran actor Sam Waterson who plays her boss with whom she got into a big fight with.
Her Asian sensibilities help navigate that while this person was yelling at her, she had to “still be respectful to him. A lot of the times, there’s an inner strength that you see amongst Asian people. There’s a pride and respect for other people.”
“You learn how to carry yourself in terms of crisis” added Munn.
Love for Sorkin-ism
When asked what attracted her to the role, Munn also made no secret of her admiration for show driver, Aaron Sorkin.
“To be honest, the only thing that stuck out to me is … Aaron Sorkin. And that the script is unlike anything else that I’ve read in Hollywood.”
She had turned down other sure-bet roles just to audition for this one role that Sorkin didn’t initially consider her for.
She also cited her favourite moment as being when Sorkin jumped out of his chair after her scene with Waterson, clapped his hands and said “Now that’s a f***ing cast!”
“That’s what I worked towards. just to make Aaron happy because I’m such a fan of his words ... if I can make him happy then I’m good.”
While other actors have famously struggled with sticking to Sorkin’s heavy material, Munn is lapping it all up. “I love it. I think if you read the dialogue exactly how it’s written, comma for comma, it really gives you a clue to who the character is.”
Plus, she’s proud to add that she may be “first person in the history of Sorkin to be told to slow down,” by the rest of the crew. In fact, Sorkin urges her to keep going as “the faster you talk, the more words he can get in.”
Famous friends
Although Munn fell short of an Emmy nomination this year, The Newsroom picked up three nods including one for Lead Actor Jeff Daniels.
“I am so excited for Jeff Daniels cos he’s worked so hard and he’s so brilliant. To me, he’s our show, so it’s very exciting that he got all this nominations.”
Alluding to her gal pal Jessica Paré of Mad Men fame, Munn said she loves supporting other fellow actors and root for each other because it’s exciting. “ I was having lunch with [Jessica] the day we got the Golden Globe nomination and they didn’t. She was like “You got the nomination!” and I was like “Yeah, but you’ve got this other one!”
One person that she can count on to give her support is none other than her beau of one year, actor Joel Kinnaman (The Killing and the upcoming Robocop). Munn seeked his opinion on what has become one of her favourite lines in the season premiere - “I make nerds look good.” - and asked how he would deliver it.
“I love that line. That line, the way that I said that line...I got help on that... from a friend who is a white guy who has a lot of swagger.”
Fast and fearless
This yoga-hating, carb-loving actress hasn’t just been spending her time as part of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart or gracing the covers of men’s magazines like Esquire and Maxim. Back in 2010, Munn also co-authored her book Suck It, Wonder Woman which documented her “misadventures as a Hollywood geek.”
It encapsulated Munn’s unique sense of humour, wit and intelligence, but more than anything, it showed her fearlessness in exposing the “behind-the-scenes” look at the industry.
“I wouldn’t say I’m fearless cos there is fear there. You’ve to be strong enough to put the fear aside.There are so many people who will get away with bad behaviour, do horrible things and turn around to donate to a charity and it’s all washed under. It’s important to make people accountable.”
“I'm living my life with good intentions and I call people out. You have to do it, especially being a woman in this world where so many people try to step over you. People are always afraid of the truth and it makes you the strongest if you are strong enough to call out the truth.”
We can’t agree more. And if there was a total package of goofy awkward charm, brainy smarts, a down-to-earth likable demeanour in a smokin’ hot body - we’re pretty sure Olivia Munn is it.
But not before leaving us with the fact that all she really wants is a superpower that will allow her to eat everything she wanted without gaining weight. Oh, Olivia, can we please be best friends now?
Don’t forget to catch Season two of The Newsroom when it premieres on Aug 5, 9pm on HBO (StarHub TV Ch 601) and HBO HD (StarHub TV Ch 655).