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Actress displays Wilde side in tackling same-sex relationship
By Amy Amatangelo
Thursday, February 3, 2005
Failure was the best thing that ever happened to Olivia Wilde.
The 20-year-old actress, who plays Alex on ``The O.C.,'' was the star of last season's heavily hyped but quickly canceled series ``Skin.'' ``I was important one day and then I was not the next day,'' Wilde recalled in a recent phone interview.
``If that hadn't happened to me, who knows where I would be right now. I think I have a very healthy outlook on the whole world of fame now. I'm so grateful. Now with `The O.C.,' experiencing the little bit of fame from that, it rolls off me like water.''
Wilde may need that thick skin now that her character is embarking on a same-sex romance with Marissa (Mischa Barton). Executive producer Josh Schwartz told her about Alex's story line before she took the part. ``I could tell from the way he spoke about it that it was going to be something he would do really well,'' she said.``I was excited to be a part of that, especially because of everything that is going on in the country right now. It is just a very politically hot topic and I care a lot about it and I wanted to be a part of that.''
Wilde seems to be as independent and strong-willed as her ``O.C.'' alter ego. As a young teen, she left her family in Washington, D.C., to attend Phillips Academy in Andover, where she studied acting.
After high school graduation, she was on her way to college in New York when ``I took a little detour to L.A. just for the summer, and that turned into a year off and that turned into three years off. I think that happens with a lot of actors.''
How did she succeed so quickly in an infamously difficult industry? ``Well I just didn't pay attention to every single person who said, `It's too hard. Don't do it.' ''
Wilde, who eloped at age 18 with documentary filmmaker Tao Ruspoli, asked her gay and bisexual friends to help her create an authentic portrayal of Alex.
``I knew a lot of bisexual and gay people would be watching and really be offended if we didn't depict it in a realistic way,'' she said. ``The most common thing I heard is it is a very delicate situation. You are so used to being alienated in your community for having this type of lifestyle, that when you are falling in love with someone who isn't necessarily gay or bisexual. That is such an emotional, crazy experience to go through.