Olivia Munn Details Male Actor's Resistance to Feminist Film Scene
Olivia Munn is sharing a revealing story about a male actor who expressed discomfort with a film scene that carried a feminist undertone. During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show this week, the X-Men: Apocalypse star discussed her long-standing commitment to projects featuring independent female characters. Munn recounted one particular production where a male co-star objected to a scene in which his character's life was saved by her character's intervention.
The Controversial Scene That Sparked Conflict
Munn described the scripted action: "If you read the script, it was that he was guarding his side, I was guarding my side, then we switch sides and then there's a guy that was coming for him — he was gonna shoot him in the back — so I shoot him," she explained. As filming was about to begin, the actor apparently realized the implications. "Somehow, I guess he didn't read the script, and in that moment, he realized, 'Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. She can't save me. No, no. She can't save me.'"
Though Munn did not name the co-star, she characterized his subsequent behavior as obnoxious and noted he became combative with the director. The disagreement delayed shooting for approximately 45 minutes before Munn proposed a compromise.
A Creative Solution That Changed Nothing
To resolve the impasse, Munn suggested reframing the scene's context. "I said, 'OK, how about instead of my character saving you, it's just that we switch because it's time for us to switch and so this is my guy to get,'" she recalled. The actor agreed to this version. Munn emphasized the irony: "Now here's the interesting thing: Nothing changed. It's just what he thought. I was doing the exact same thing."
Munn's History of Speaking Out About Hollywood Treatment
This incident is not isolated in Munn's career. The actor, who is married to comedian John Mulaney, has been vocal about facing challenging situations on Hollywood sets. Last year on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, she recalled an unnamed director from HBO's The Newsroom who disparaged her work ethic after she disagreed with his direction for a scene involving her character Sloan Sabbith and Thomas Sadoski's Don Keefer.
"I was on the one-yard-line for the movie and my manager calls me and says, 'Hey, you're gonna get the role. But first, I guess there's another director who they know and he says that on The Newsroom you were late all the time and really combative,'" Munn shared. She immediately recognized the source, stating, "I was like, 'I know who this is.'"
Current Projects and Advocacy
Munn currently stars in the Apple TV+ crime drama series Your Friends & Neighbors alongside Jon Hamm. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she expressed hope that her experiences can inspire other female actors to advocate for themselves in the industry.
"I can't change the world and I cannot change how women have been portrayed and received for however long we've been on earth," Munn told the outlet. She added: "So I've realized that I'm going to handle [these situations] in a way that is going to be the best outcome for me." Her story underscores persistent gender dynamics in filmmaking, where even symbolic acts of female agency can provoke resistance.
