"Olivia Wilde"

Episode of SmartLess · July 13, 2026 · 1 h 3 min

Olivia Wilde tells the SmartLess hosts about changing her name, working in a casting office, her acting career, and directing Booksmart and The Invite.

Summary

Actor-director Olivia Wilde joined hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes after an opening stretch of banter about Andy Richter, Bateman's assistants, a cake-delivery service and an upscale Los Angeles market. Wilde and Arnett discussed Behemoth, an upcoming Tony Gilroy film about film composers starring Pedro Pascal in which Arnett plays Pascal's brother, and Arnett recounted accidentally leaving a store with Gilroy's credit card after they split a dinner bill.

Wilde explained that she was born Olivia Cockburn, from a family of writers and journalists, and legally changed her surname to Wilde at 18 in tribute to Oscar Wilde. Inspired by Catherine Keener, she worked as an assistant to casting director Mali Finn, where she heard the legend of Sam Rockwell learning ten pages of lines in five minutes, a story Rockwell later told her was a deliberate ploy. Hayes shared his own wrong-sides audition for Rob Reiner's The Bucket List. Wilde said directing had made her more compassionate toward auditioning actors and that she preferred simple self-tapes to elaborate setups.

Wilde traced her love of comedy to watching SNL, Monty Python and Wayne's World with her laughing parents, described a mother-son trip to Japan built around a shared Godzilla obsession, and reviewed her career from The O.C. through The Change-Up and the improvised Drinking Buddies, which she said first made her believe she could direct. She detailed The Invite, an adaptation of a Spanish film written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack and starring herself, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton, shot in sequence on 35mm in 23 days after two weeks of workshopping; she argued that rehearsal time should not be sacrificed. She called her set experience her "proxy film school," discussed Booksmart, her reality-TV tastes, the Gregg Araki film I Want Your Sex, and a Christmas comedy she is developing. The hosts closed by promoting a live SmartLess show at the Hollywood Bowl on October 17.

Chapters

0:44
Opening banter
The hosts riff about eyeglasses, Andy Richter, Bateman's assistants, a cake lady and a pricey neighborhood market.
7:27
Olivia Wilde and Behemoth
Bateman introduces Wilde, who discusses the Tony Gilroy film Behemoth, and Arnett tells a story about mixing up credit cards with Gilroy.
14:19
From Cockburn to Wilde
Wilde explains her family surname, her writer relatives and why she took Oscar Wilde's name at 18.
19:13
Casting office and the Rockwell legend
Wilde recalls working for casting director Mali Finn and learning that Sam Rockwell's famous quick-study audition was a practiced trick.
23:08
Auditions from both sides
Hayes recounts his Bucket List audition, and Wilde discusses empathy for auditioning actors and overproduced self-tapes.
25:54
Moving to LA and paths not taken
Wilde describes leaving boarding school for Los Angeles, her one-year deadline, and a fantasy of studying neuroscience, prompting talk about trusting doctors.
31:34
Childhood comedy and Japan
Wilde credits family comedy viewing for her love of the genre and describes a Godzilla-inspired trip to Japan with her son.
38:09
The O.C. to Drinking Buddies
The group reviews Wilde's acting career, including The O.C., The Change-Up and the improvised Drinking Buddies that sparked her interest in directing.
43:53
Making The Invite
Wilde details the premise, cast, workshop process, in-order shooting and single-camera approach of her film The Invite.
52:57
Booksmart and proxy film school
Wilde discusses learning to direct by observing sets and the resonance of her debut Booksmart.
54:51
Hobbies and reality TV
Wilde and the hosts trade guilty-pleasure viewing, from Below Deck to Love on the Spectrum and Love Story.
57:10
Upcoming projects and wrap-up
Wilde previews I Want Your Sex and a Christmas comedy, and the hosts praise her and promote a Hollywood Bowl live show.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Olivia Wilde
Wilde argues that growing up with an embarrassing surname builds character and is good for a person.
“I truly think it's good for you. I think that everyone should be given one really devastating part of their name”
Listen from 17:10 · Stage name change
Olivia Wilde
Wilde says she chose her surname after becoming obsessed with Oscar Wilde through performing The Importance of Being Earnest.
“And the first play I did that I really loved was The Importance of Being Earnest. And then I read everything that Oscar Wilde wrote and I just became obsessed with him”
Listen from 18:34 · Stage name change
Olivia Wilde
Wilde notes that casting directors rarely hire aspiring actors as assistants because of the conflict of interest.
“It's not something most casting directors will let you do. They don't usually hire wannabe actors because it's dangerous”
Listen from 19:33 · Casting and auditions
Olivia Wilde
Wilde recounts that Sam Rockwell told her his legendary quick-memorization audition was a routine tactic he used.
“I always heard this story when I was an assistant and it just really inspired me. And he goes, oh, oh yeah”
Listen from 22:14 · Casting and auditions
Linked moment · 23:08Skip to 23:08 using a listen link in the info box.
Olivia Wilde
Wilde says that as a director she gives every auditioning actor full time even when she knows they won't be cast.
“Even if I know from the first moment that it's not going to be them, I'm like, this is your time”
Listen from 24:47 · Casting and auditions
Olivia Wilde
Wilde says she prefers simple phone self-tapes over elaborate lighting and framing setups.
“I'd rather have someone's like shitty iPhone selfie video in their car”
Listen from 25:39 · Casting and auditions
Sean Hayes
Hayes says he trusts trained doctors over online sources and self-help claims.
“and somebody who studied it day in and day out. I'm going to go with the guy who studied it”
Listen from 30:03
Olivia Wilde
Wilde attributes her desire to make comedies to childhood memories of her family laughing together.
“I think it is probably the happiest memories from childhood. I think I'm trying to recreate that feeling”
Listen from 32:58
Jason Bateman
Bateman says sharing films with his daughter matters to him because it recreates the shared references he had with his father.
“Because that's what I had with my dad. It was great subject matter and shared references”
Listen from 34:20
Olivia Wilde
Wilde observes that Japan's clean streets reflect civic respect rather than an abundance of trash cans.
“So it's not because like, oh, they have so many trash cans. It's that they just respect the city enough to not litter”
Listen from 36:24 · Travel in Japan
Olivia Wilde
Wilde says the improvised Drinking Buddies was the first time she believed she could write or direct.
“it was the first time I kind of took myself seriously as potentially being able to write something or maybe direct something one day”
Listen from 42:00 · Drinking Buddies
Olivia Wilde
Wilde argues that rehearsal time is too readily sacrificed in filmmaking.
“I was like, can we stop giving away rehearsal time immediately when we make movies? Like, it's the first thing we give up”
Listen from 46:40 · Film rehearsal and workshopping
Olivia Wilde
Wilde blames agents for keeping actors unavailable for rehearsal before shooting.
“Agents are the ones who are like, no, he's not available until the minute you start rolling the camera”
Listen from 46:53 · Film rehearsal and workshopping
Olivia Wilde
Wilde says Edward Norton improvised an entire monologue in the third act of The Invite.
“he ended up improvising like an entire monologue in the third act of this movie”
Listen from 48:04 · The Invite (film)
Olivia Wilde
Wilde says she mostly used one camera on The Invite, inspired by Tarantino's advice about perspective.
“Have one camera, pick your perspective. Anytime you have two cameras, one shot is suffering”
Listen from 51:40 · The Invite (film)
Will Arnett
Arnett argues that shared frames work better for comedy than cutting between single shots.
“there's nothing worse than cutting back from singles in comedy. I love seeing people inhabiting the same frame in a comedy”
Listen from 52:11 · The Invite (film)
Sean Hayes
Hayes complains that editors alter the comic timing actors deliver on set.
“they gave you the comedy timing while you were filming it. And then the editor plays with it”
Listen from 52:34
Olivia Wilde
Wilde says years on film sets served as her substitute for the college and film school she never attended.
“my proxy film school, because I didn't go to college, didn't go to film school, and I was always insecure about that lack of education”
Listen from 53:15 · Booksmart
Olivia Wilde
Wilde argues that a director's first film tends to contain a lifetime of accumulated ideas.
“I think often your first movie is the one you've been building up for your entire life”
Listen from 53:33 · Booksmart
Jason Bateman Partly true
Bateman states that I Want Your Sex will be released on July 23.
“So I want your sex comes out July 23rd, which is in about 10 days from this air date here”
Listen from 58:33 · I Want Your Sex (film)
Will Arnett Prediction · being checked
Arnett announces a live SmartLess show at the Hollywood Bowl on October 17.
“We're going to do a live Smart List show at the Hollywood Bowl. SmartList.com slaps live on October 17th”
Listen from 1:01:26

People

In the conversation

Jason BatemanAmerican actor and director, co-host of SmartLess
Will ArnettCanadian-American actor and comedian, co-host of SmartLess
Sean HayesAmerican actor and comedian, co-host of SmartLess
Olivia WildeDirector of Don't Worry Darling, in which Kroll acted

Discussed

Tony GilroyDirector Will Arnett worked with on a recent project
Pedro PascalActor who plays Will Arnett's brother in the Tony Gilroy project
Andy RichterAmerican comedian and actor
Mali FinnAmerican casting director for whom Wilde worked
Sam RockwellAmerican actor seen with Bateman at a Knicks game
Catherine KeenerAmerican actor who inspired Wilde to work as a casting assistant
Oscar WildeIrish writer whose surname Olivia Wilde adopted
Rob ReinerFilm director allegedly killed by his son
Seth RogenActor who voiced the alien in the film Paul, referenced in an anecdote about healing
Penélope CruzSpanish actor who co-stars in The Invite
Edward NortonBritish army officer who reached within about 1,000 feet of Everest's summit in 1924
Rashida JonesActress appearing in Good Sex and longtime friend of Portman
Will McCormackAmerican actor and writer, co-writer of The Invite
Joe SwanbergAmerican director of Drinking Buddies
Gregg ArakiAmerican filmmaker who directed I Want Your Sex
Cooper HoffmanAmerican actor in I Want Your Sex
Mike NicholsAmerican director whose work Wilde cited as an influence
Quentin TarantinoAmerican filmmaker whose films draw on samurai imagery

Topics

From the publisher

It’s the ham of the family, a.k.a. Olivia Wilde. We dip into a bowl of mixed Pop Tarts: proxy film school, Tony’s mothballs, the Rockwell Technique, and of course a lil Hendrix pickleball. You’re born with it. Welcome to SmartLess.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 30, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Film Interviews·Comedy Interviews