Olivia Wilde On Making Art

After Olivia Wilde played Alex Kelly in the four-season teen drama “The O.C.,” the actor went on to star as Remy “Thirteen” Hadley in the hit medical series “House.” Apart from appearing in some episodes of “Vinyl,” “BoJack Horseman,” and “Portlandia,” Wilde has been a part of TV shows like “Robot Chicken” and “The Studio.”

Wilde has also starred in a string of movies, including “Tron: Legacy,” “Cowboys & Aliens,” “I Want Your Sex,” and “The Lazarus Effect.” The actor made her directorial debut with “Booksmart,” a coming-of-age comedy about two graduating high school girls who plan on breaking the rules before they go to college. “Booksmart” was well-received by critics and won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature in 2020. Wilde also directed “Don’t Worry Darling” and “The Invite.”

Wilde’s onscreen presence is striking, and her multifaceted talents help her stand out, which is why she is today’s quote of the day.

“It’s only when we give up the safety of comfort that we will actually break new ground. That’s where the most interesting art always comes from! You have to be a little bit challenged, scared, intimidated. It lights you up in a way; it’s activating. Sometimes it’s humbling, having to accept that not everything is going to work, that there is an inevitable unknown … We don’t know what will work. It is always a gamble, and that is why you just have to continue staying authentic to yourself.”

The above quote is from Olivia Wilde’s 2022 interview with The Talks. “I think anything worth doing will be incredibly challenging,” Wilde said. The actor argued that hardships and setbacks are an expected part of any journey worth pursuing and that accepting this gamble is one way of staying true to oneself.

“David Bowie said something like, ‘Swim out creatively. Swim out just past the point where your feet touch the ground, that’s when you’re getting somewhere,'” Wilde added, emphasizing the need to gently push through our own limits.

Olivia Wilde’s quote about leaving the safety of our comfort zones should be contextualized against the behind-the-scenes factors that shaped her film “Don’t Worry Darling.” While explaining how her movie is about “a revolutionary,” Wilde clarified that it was “not an easy film to make,” especially during a global pandemic. 

“… I knew that as a director, it was my responsibility to keep people on the path, despite challenges that ranged from the typical filmmaking challenges like budget to others like a global pandemic,” Wilde said.

Although Wilde and her crew faced challenging circumstances, she took her own advice and pushed the boundaries of her comfort zone to actualize her directorial vision. “Any movie that actually gets made is a miracle, but this one was particularly difficult to make,” Wilde reiterated, going on to highlight her willingness to break new ground in spite of it all.

• “You get to a point where you have to exit your logic brain and tap into something deeply human and emotional, and to trust your instincts, and to leap into that void, and it is not guaranteed, it’s not safe, and it’s actually the most valuable thing you can do for yourself. It often happens, I think, when you get to a point of maturity, when you realize you’re ready for that leap.” — from a 2026 interview with RogerEbert.com

• “I feel like I was an activist even in my own heart before I was ever a celebrity, so one sort of supersedes the other. I feel that one feels much more fair to my own self-identification than the other. I don’t think of myself as a celebrity, but I think of myself as an activist. Being an activist drives a lot more of my decision-making than being a celebrity.” — from a 2017 interview with Rookie Mag

• “I think that the greatest demonstration of power is the ability to listen and to maintain your cool when everything inevitably falls apart, and to make other people feel empowered.” — from a 2022 interview with Elle