Olivia Wilde covers Marie Claire Magazine April 2013.
Inside the issue, Wilde, real surname Cockburn, talks about the ex-husband whom she still addresses in every interview. She also talks about falling in love with her current fiance’s sense of humour, and being so impressed with Jason Sudeikis’ brains and charm she initially didn’t feel good enough.
On her ex-husband, Tao Ruspoli: “I had grown up with Tao. We had just drifted. I felt I had something to prove. If you fall off a horse, you get back up. I am not a quitter. I hung on for as long as possible, until it was more hurtful to stay… I’m so grateful for the pain and the heartbreak. It gave me the courage to leave and brought me the great love of my life.”
On getting married in 2003: “I grew up being told by my parents each time they went off to war that they may explode, so I needed to know how things like the gadgets in the kitchen worked. When we got married, Iraq had just been invaded. My parents said marrying was an optimistic thing to do in pessimistic times.”
Meeting Jason Sudeikis in 2011: “I was just learning to be by myself. We were both seeing people but were single. He seemed to really see me, see through the bulls**t. He said very few words and couldn’t keep eye contact. He was so handsome and he could dance… I thought, ‘He won’t be interested in me, I’m not a contender.’ He was so cool, so funny. I was such a fan of his and had always fancied his speed and his intelligence. He’s a brilliant actor with a brain like lightening… I thought ‘I’m not beautiful enough or his type.’ I couldn’t wait to sit down and hear him talk.”
On her first date with Sudeikis: “On our first date, in New York City, we closed the restaurant down at 2 a.m.! He didn’t kiss me, and I was madly in love. I was overwhelmed. He was never overly flirtatious. He had patience and sincerity and kindness. No presumptuousness. He didn’t ever exhibit any signs of s**tiness. He was always considerate.”
On wanting to have children: “I can’t wait for children. I’m open-minded about how many, but three, which I love, is like a little party. I am not trying to have kids now, there’s no strict plan for anything in my life. What happens, happens. He’s so good with kids… I’ve never before experienced looking at someone and thinking, ‘That’s who I want to raise a child with.’ ”
On getting started in Hollywood: “It was helpful to have the confidence of youth that came from a lack of desperation. I thought: If I don’t succeed I’ll go back to school and study.” Taken on by casting director Mali Finn, Wilde sorted head shots and made coffee until Finn eventually suggested, “probably just as a favor to me,” that Wilde, a veteran of theater camps and school plays, audition for her.
On being cast in Skin, a failed drama, at the age of 19: “It was the worst thing you’ve ever seen in your life. I learned on the job, which was a gift. All actors should experience public failure. It took me back to square one. I was only 19, but I never took the bulls**t that surrounds the business seriously again. I’ll never believe in it. It was false love, fickle, I will never fall prey to it.”
On her philosophy in life: “It is so clichéd, but communication, that both of us should never stop talking. Trust. Jason has a very trusting way. There is no other way to go through life. I trust work, directors. I don’t live in fear. All good experiences have come from trusting the universe. There is no other way to live or love. Otherwise, you create your own prison.” - via Marie Claire Magazine.