Olivia Munn plays the vivacious Sloane Sabbith on The Newsroom, and in this newest interview she goes in depth about casting, working with Aaron Sorkin, and all things Sloane.
Sloane Sabbith has quickly become a fan favorite character on The Newsroom due to her infectious smile and determination to succeed and inform the populace about her passion- the economy. In this latest interview with Goldderby.com, Olivia Munn gives a lengthy interview all about filming and the phenomenon that is The Newsroom.
This interview is a regular treasure trove of information, including some bits about Olivia’s casting process. She spills that she was incredibly nervous about her audition, went in and nailed it, then got a phone call and found out that not only did she get the part, but she was the only one that auditioned and they were closing the auditions. It certainly seems that Olivia Munn was born to play this part, and for that part to be in an Aaron Sorkin show is overwhelming and incredibly fortunate.
She also talked in length about speaking Japanese on The Newsroom, and how Aaron Sorkin wrote those scenes. We personally loved the bit about him asking her if a few words were okay, then increasing to a few sentences, then ending at the scenes we see in 1×06 “Bullies” where she is speaking large portions of dialogue in Japanese. We can’t wait to see if Olivia Munn can get a Supporting Actress Emmy nomination, as she cites that episode as the one she submitted for consideration. (We’re crossing our fingers!)
It was particularly interesting to hear Olivia’s thoughts on the show’s being criticized for its portrayal of women. She defended the show, citing the silliness of female characters like Maggie and Mackenzie to be equal to that of its male counterparts like Jim and Will. We completely agree that while it may be easy to see The Newsroom’s female characters as silly, there is so much more to the portrayal, and seeing the characters’ humanity in their mistakes is what keeps them real.
While we didn’t get much by way of info for The Newsroom season 2, we can’t wait to see what the show has for us when the new season returns in June.