Olivia Wilde Says Women Need To Learn To Play The Sexuality ‘Game’ At Work

Olivia Wilde, actress and activist, talks about one of the most important lessons that she has ever learned while working in the industry.

According to her, the impression that your outfit makes on the casting director that you are meeting can either make or break your career. Yesterday, at the Marie Claire The Power of Presence event, Olivia shared her personal experience as an actress.

“I remember an actress coming by in too short a dress, and after she left, the [casting director] said, ‘I didn’t hear a word she said in her audition. Why was she wearing that dress? She’s a joke. I don’t want her in here ever again.’ This girl was never heard from again in our office, so I learned from that. Then a few days later, I was going for an audition and I was wearing this huge cashmere turtleneck and pants, thinking I looked very ‘executive.’ As I was walking out of the office, Mali said, ‘Olivia, what are you wearing? I said I was going to a meeting, and she said, ‘Oh! You can’t wear that! You have to wear something tight and sexy.’ I was so confused, because I had just learned this lesson of this actress who wore the short skirt and now her career is over. So she said, ‘You’re going to meet a male executive.’ You have to learn this game, you have to learn when to use sexuality and beauty and appearance in general, and when it’s inappropriate. That was my first kind of dunk into the world of Hollywood. It gives you this idea of the contradiction that exists, really in all fields.”

Paul Hudson | Elite.