Olivia Munn recently delved into a frustrating experience she had on the set of The Newsroom. During a recent interview, she revealed how creative clashes with one of the show’s directors nearly ruined her career.
Olivia Munn talks about The Newsroom director
Olivia Munn recently opened up about her time on HBO’s The Newsroom. She revealed that her behind-the-scenes clashes with one of the show’s directors nearly cost her future career opportunities. Speaking candidly on the June 30 episode of Armchair Expert, Munn described how tensions began after her character, Sloan Sabbith, became romantically involved with Don Keefer, played by Thomas Sadoski.
Although Munn cherished her role and the audience’s positive response to Sloan, she explained that one director insisted on steering her character in a direction she disagreed with. The said director consistently tried to shift her performance to focus more on flirtation and romance, even in scenes where she felt it was out of character.
When Munn resisted those changes, she said it created friction. She said, “I just fought back so much.” Their creative disagreements reached a point where the director accused her of being “too strong” and “forceful.” Munn refused to compromise, even when a producer acknowledged the increasing tension.
But the issues didn’t end there. After The Newsroom, Munn claimed the same director attempted to sabotage a major film opportunity for her. Just before landing a role, her team was informed that the director from The Newsroom had warned the filmmakers that Munn was “combative” and often late to set. Munn said the accusation was entirely false, adding that she lived only seven minutes from the studio and was always on time.
Talking about the director, she said, “He just was trying to bash me.” Although she ultimately got the role, she said the experience left her frustrated. She added, “And then I still got the role. But I will always remember that, just because of our conflicts of how we approached a role, he wanted to ruin my chances of getting anything else.”
Originally reported by Disheeta Maheshwari on ComingSoon.
