Olivia Munn makes nerds look good

[Note: Video hyperlinked may have strong language.] 

MANILA, Philippines – Mondays may as well be “Munn days” for local fans of actress Olivia Munn starting with the July 5 season two premiere of the cable drama “The Newsroom.” The HBO original series returns with its entire season one main cast, which includes Munn as Sloan Sabbith, a beauty-and-brains economics expert with a primetime segment in the show’s fictitious Atlantis Cable News (ACN).

Conceived by writer Aaron Sorkin (“The West Wing,” “The Social Network”), “The Newsroom” features the 33-year-old Munn as Sloan Sabbith, a sharp economics pro who happens to be photogenic, landing her a primetime news gig on ACN. 

Fanboys who know Munn, from her time on the wacky tech-and-pop-culture review program “Attack of the Show!” and sex-symbol hype via Playboy, FHM and Maxim might deem her “Newsroom” stint quite a stretch.

Yet her ongoing gig — following cameos in several TV shows and movies — is not such a long shot: Munn took up Journalism and minored in Japanese and Dramatic Arts at the University of Oklahoma. So when Sloan says in tonight’s episode that “I make nerds look good,” it’s a verbal homerun for Munn.

An American whose mother is Chinese and whose father is German-Irish, Munn recently talked by phone to a group of Asian journalists prior to this week’s “The Newsroom” premiere in the region. Here are excerpts:

How did you feel about getting your role in “The Newsroom”? Does your journalism degree help?

I was overjoyed when I got the part. I had really wanted this; I took a big gamble and passed on other opportunities to audition for this. Getting this role was one of the happiest moments in my life. 

I was on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” playing a fake reporter, then I moved over to “The Newsroom” where I pretend to be a real reporter. Being a journalism major has definitely helped in many moments in my career, not just with “The Newsroom.” 

What can we expect from your character in season 2?

She gets to take on more news stories. She pushes to take a stand on more stories [such as] on the administration’s anti-terrorist policies. She also has this great big brother-little sister relationship with Will [“News Night” anchor-managing editor William McAvoy, played by Jeff Daniels].

We’ll get to see the things that she’s confident in and things she’s not. 

How have you educated yourself for the role of an economics expert?

Sorkin created Sloan to be a very smart person. She has two PhD’s so she’s a lot smarter than me. I have to prepare a lot to be able to deliver my dialogue with extensive knowledge and understanding. I already work a lot of hours on my regular dialogue, and anything about the economy adds another extra 30% of my time, doing the research and educating myself. 

To be able to do Sorkin’s dense and layered dialogue, you really have to be knowledgeable. You can’t just remember the lines. You have to know what you’re talking about.

How is your “Newsroom” character different from your previous roles? 

It’s very different just from the simple fact that it’s a Sorkin character. 

Being on a TV show, you have an opportunity to show more levels to your character than in a movie, because the story line is always changing. 

Sloan is a really strong, smart woman who is also very awkward and socially inept. She’s also a really loyal and protective friend, and I get more chances to delve into the character and show more sides to her. 

What has been your favorite Sloan moment?

It’s [in Episode 6, titled “Bullies,”] when my character has a big confrontation with her boss  [ACN news division president Charlie Skinner, played by Sam Waterston]. 

I love that scene so much. There were so many different levels that I was trying to bring to it. Often, when actors get opportunities where there’s so much emotion involved, they’re raring to yell and get really upset.

But I prefer to practice more restraint and hold back. I had so much fun figuring out all the emotions that I’d have to play in the moment. I saw that scene as Sloan being a tiger in a cage, pushed and pushed and pushed until she just had to stand up for herself.

What message might the show be putting across?

Last season, we had a real news event as a focal point per episode. However, this season we have news events in each episode and one [continuing] story line throughout the season.

I’m not quite sure what message we’re trying to get out. I think it’s for Sorkin to answer and really for the audience to tell us what message they take from it, if any.

Would there be a breakthrough for you in season 2?

I have this episode coming up — I believe it’s episode 5 — that was very difficult personally in wanting to tackle it in the right way. It was an emotional episode, and my choice often is to feel all the emotions and then bury them beneath the surface. 

[That new episode] was very challenging for me. You get to see the duality of someone being knocked down and so vulnerable, and at the same time finding her strength from being punched down. 

What can you say about how the female characters have been written?

I think all of the show’s characters are written in a similar way, male or female. I believe it’s all about what the actor wants to bring to the role and how we want to deliver each line. You can’t control the [scripted] words or actions; but as an actor, you bring to each word, each line and each scene what you want to bring. 

For Sloan, I wanted to bring an inner, quiet strength that didn’t need to be shouted from the rooftops. I think that’s why there is such a great response to Sloan, especially from women in the workforce who identify with someone who’s not trying to fight a fight, who is strong and smart enough to be heard without raising her voice.

I’m aware of the criticisms of the show’s other [main] actresses. But knowing and working with them personally, I can say they [Emily Mortimer and Alison Pill, who play executive producer MacKenzie McHale and associate producer Maggie Jordan, respectively] are two of the best people I’ve ever met. I’m proud to call them my friends and co-stars. They bring their own truth and choices to their roles. 

It’s interesting that people have brought up “women problems” about the show. They point out how a female character can mess up something so small but completely look over the fact that a male character messed up something just as silly or something even bigger. Critics and journalists tend to judge the female characters harsher than they do the male ones.

How do you feel about Sloan being a dominant force on the show?

The positive audience response to her is so humbling, scary and kind of dizzying. 

I tried so hard to get on the show. I wasn’t even favored to audition because I’m not a Broadway actress. I didn’t always have the family encouraging me to go to the arts. So to have gotten on the show and have the critics respond [favorably], it’s very nice.

If you can help pull your weight on a show, it’s such a great feeling. It’s very exciting that more people are connecting to Sloan. 

Will you speak Japanese again this season? 

Not this time. [Munn was raised largely in Japan.] I’m comfortable speaking Japanese in any role, but it’s hard enough to do Sorkin dialogue, let alone Sorkin Japanese.

But I loved [episode 6 of season 1]. It was such a great challenge. I’m very honored that he entrusted me with such a big episode. His trust makes me feel more comfortable in what I’m doing.

Could you talk about Sloan’s relationship with Don? Will they be romantically involved?

In season 2, Sloan ends up sitting in for Elliot [ACN anchor Elliot Hirsch, a recurring character played by David Harbour] in the 10 o’clock broadcast, so Don [“News Night” ex-executive producer turned “Right Now with Elliot Hirsch” producer Don Keefer, played by Thomas Sadoski] becomes her boss and there’s a rule on the show against dating your boss. 

But something will happen at the end of the season, about Sloan’s love life. It kind of comes out of nowhere.

What about Sloan’s relationship with Neal?

I’m the closest on the show with Emily Mortimer and Dev Patel. [Patel plays network blogger and Internet scanner Neal Sampat]. Sorkin told me that there’s a Sloan-Neil fan group who’ve nicknamed us “Sneal” and who love those two characters together.

He and I have such a great chemistry and great friendship off-camera. So we got to do a lot of fun stuff and things that come off, hopefully, in a funny way. We were handed a lot of comedic moments.

What were your expectations going into season 2?

I’ve learned in life that you don’t really go in with expectations. You just try your best then wait and let your audience tell you how you did. 

I actually do get excited about that, because you obviously want to have the best response. It’s so exciting that the audience is very fickle and very smart. I only hope that people enjoy the show and want to keep watching. 

Why do you think the show is a big hit?

I think “The Newsroom” has been successful because, no matter what part of the world you’re in, you’re connected to the news. And the way America delivers the news really affects the world a lot of times. 

Also, Sorkin’s choice in placing real news events into the show brings back memories for people and gets them to ask questions again. We can’t help but be drawn into them. They’re recent events, so they’re still fresh in our minds. [Season 2’s pilot is set in August 2011.]

What has been most challenging thing about being in “The Newsroom”?

I like to joke around between takes. I do a lot of my work beforehand so when I’m on the set, I just throw it away as it’s already part of my consciousness. 

A lot of people don’t operate that way, yet I feel you need that levity when working on serious stuff. What’s hard with my co-stars is knowing when to joke around and when they don’t want to be bothered at all. Dev and I joke around between takes, while the others are not really looking for a laugh in the middle of a hard Sorkin day.

Olivia Munn briefly discusses her ‘Newsroom’ role in this HBO teaser: 

– Rappler.com

 

Season 2 of ‘The Newsroom’ premieres August 5 at 9pm on HBO and will air every Monday night thereafter. Replays are on Tuesdays, 1pm; Thursdays, 11:45pm; and Fridays, 10am.