Olivia Wilde would rather her work be ‘controversial than boring’

nypost.com:

per Deadline. Wilde’s career was launched by the short-lived controversial TV series “Skin” in 2003. She went on to guest star as Alex Kelley in television’s hottest teen drama, “The O.C.,” in 2004, playing a bisexual bartender who dates both Adam Brody and Mischa Barton’s characters in the show.

Wilde was ultimately written off the show because her storyline with the latter sparked public discourse.But Wilde was not perturbed.

As a result, the 40-year-old says she’s pitched projects that people “know that I won’t be afraid of,” she said. “And I think part of that is being willing to not be accepted, being willing to not be celebrated by everyone, being willing to not be loved by everyone.”“I think a huge problem with our business – around the world, I imagine it’s the same – when you conflate filmmaking or acting with fame or with large-scale acceptance, you immediately cut off every opportunity to do any risky work,” she continued. “And so I think that it was important to me to never become overly focused on being accepted or loved,” she said.Wilde’s directorial debut came in 2019 with “Booksmart,” a coming-of-age flick that resonated well with the masses, although her next feature film, “Don’t Worry Darling,” in 2022, was more controversial, riddled with scandals from on and off the movie set.

The film starred actress Florence Pugh and pop star Harry Styles, who Wilde would go on to date.Taking it one step further, Wilde said she’d rather be dubbed “controversial” or have her work hated than conform: “I’d rather be controversial than boring.