Olivia Wilde would rather her work be 'controversial than boring'

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Olivia Wilde's top TV and movie roles from 'The O.C.' to 'Booksmart'

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Seasoned actress and director Olivia Wilde said she is not seeking your approval when she picks a project to work on.

Appearing at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Wilde, who has been in the industry since she was 20, told the audience that while she wasn't seeking acceptance or love from the viewer, she was pursuing projects with an element of uncertainty.

Wilde said that she'd "naturally gravitated towards roles that had a little bit of risk involved," which ultimately had an impact on the types of projects she was asked to be a part of, per Deadline. 

Wilde's career was launched by the short-lived controversial TV series "Skin" in 2003. 

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Olivia Wilde is not looking to be "accepted or loved" as a director. (Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)

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."

Olivia Wilde poses at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for the Red Sea International Film Festival)

"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.

Florence Pugh and Harry Styles fronted Olivia Wilde's 2022 movie "Don't Worry Darling." (Warner Bros. Pictures)

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. You never want to make a movie as a director that people are like, ‘Eh, I don’t know, I felt nothing.’ I’d rather people hate it than feel nothing."

Olivia Wilde would rather do something controversial and have it be hated than make something boring. (Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)

"It was important to me to never become overly focused on being accepted or loved."

— Olivia Wilde

Looking forward, Wilde will prioritize work that is "more challenging than the last thing I’ve done," she revealed. "I feel bored otherwise. I think that my biggest fear is probably like flatlining as an artist and just becoming lazy."