Olivia Munn recounts a week of high drama and unexpected twists. As the Newsroom alum reveals, in 2010, she was cast in the NBC series 30 Rock, set to play Alec Baldwin's love interest, Avery Jessup. However, after days of back-and-forth negotiations, Olivia ultimately missed out on the role, which eventually went to Elizabeth Banks.
"I got the job ... and then two days later, they were like, 'Alec thinks that you look too young to play his love interest,'" Olivia shared with The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on April 3. "Another two days later, 'No, no, no. They think you're perfect. You're going to fly out on Saturday.' On Friday, 'No, no, no. Alec thinks that you look too young and he's putting his foot down.'"
E! News reached out to reps for Alec and NBC for comment but has not yet received a response. Despite the disappointment of not booking the series - especially since it would have been a significant break for her - Olivia was not devastated. She found solace in the fact that she didn't get the role due to something she couldn't control.
"I only thought to myself, 'Wow, look how far I got," Olivia said. "I ended up not getting the job because of something I couldn’t control. On my ability and my acting, I got it. It gave me so much confidence."
It wasn't just the audition process that helped shape her confidence but also how she approached it in the first place. She felt confident and even tried to stay in character as Avery. When she got the call that she'd booked the role, she knew that she had protected her psyche and kept herself from feeling envy and competition with the other women.
Despite not ending up on 30 Rock, Olivia found herself starring on NBC's Perfect Couples, which ran for one season from 2010 to 2011 before being cast on The Newsroom, playing Sloan Sabbith on all three seasons.
"I never really had a significant acting job before," Olivia admitted of her role on the HBO show. "I had a sitcom on NBC, but this was a different level. I was the only one who wasn’t a Broadway-caliber actor. I just really wanted to nail it."
