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House is Right

A Conference Call Interview with Olivia Wilde (Part 1)

by Lynn on January 23rd, 2008

Olivia WildeToday, I had a thrill! (Just as excited as my friend Randi was when she got to interview Laura Silverman, the guest star of episode 4.12) I got to take part in a phone press conference with Olivia Wilde, aka Thirteen. She was delightful and you could just tell how upbeat and energetic she is, just from her voice. I got to ask her several questions, but there were others there asking questions too, and they all revealed interesting things about Olivia and the show. Here’s what we all discussed:

Initially when you guys signed on for the roles, it wasn’t as a regular gig, it was sort of open-ended, right?

Olivia Wilde: Yes, exactly.

So how did that affect the process for you?

Olivia: Well, it meant that we never took it for granted. Which was great. We never knew if our characters were a short-term arc, or if we would be there for a while. It sort of made it more of a mystery and kept us on our toes, which is a really good thing. I think it’s why the performances turned out as well as we all feel that they did. There was no chance to get lazy. It was finding out each week if we’d be there the next week. It was pretty exciting and pretty stressful and it made us just enjoy every minute of it. And ironically, the second that Kal, Peter and I found out that we were going to be regulars, the strike happened. So we still haven’t had a moment to take it for granted.

Did it make things more competitive, with the number of actors there?

Olivia: No. What was amazing was that they did such a great job casting without ever seeing us together, they never knew if we had chemistry. From the second we all met, from the very beginning, we had a great relationship. We decided early on that the only way to deal with the competitiveness was to joke about it constantly. The great thing was that everyone had a very relaxed and secure personality so there wasn’t any cattiness. I’m being completely honest when I say that we were shocked ourselves. We were sure that there would be disappointment or jealousy but there wasn’t because everyone had a great sense of humor about it. We all understood that being on even one episode of House was a huge break for any actor. So once we had done one it was like no one could complain. We trusted the creative producers of the show to pick the people that worked best for the show. Amazingly, there was no competitiveness, there was no jealousy and we all became really, really good friends.

Are there any romantic possibilities between your character and Dr. House?
(follow the jump to continue reading!)

Olivia: You know, I’ve seen reviews where there is speculation about something romantic between Thirteen and House, but I never picked up on that myself. I think they have a mutual respect and they enjoy sparring with each other. They both are very stubborn and have very strong personalities. I don’t know. I know very little because we find out things almost as soon as the audience does. I think anything is possible with her because she is unpredictable as a person. At this point, what I see between them is not a romantic connection; it’s a mutual respect between two unorthodox and stubborn doctors.

Thirteen’s secret was something that was built up so much. How quickly did you know what her past was?

Olivia: I didn’t. She doesn’t have one secret. I would say that Thirteen is a bowl of secrets. I think that they are slowly revealing things about her. Soon, we’ll learn a little bit more. But the big one that was dropped about her past, that she may have Huntington’s, I actually found out a little earlier than everyone else because I needed to know why I should be so guarded. I went to David Shore and said, “I know you guys keep everything secret and I respect that, but I need to know early on what she’s comfortable with and what strikes a chord with her.” And he trusted me and told me and I didn’t tell a soul, even though it was difficult. It was a good way of getting me into character. Once I knew, it really shaped her for me. It made me have a lot of empathy and respect for her. And as I’m learning more about her, the same thing is happening. I’m learning to love her more and more. They’re very good about keeping a secret on House, even from us. But if we need to know something, they’re cool about letting us know.

Were you a big fan of the show before you were hired, and what other shows do you enjoy watching?

Olivia: I was a big fan of the show. I thought it was really entertaining. I’ve loved Hugh Laurie since Fry & Laurie and Blackadder and a lot of the shows that a lot of people here don’t know him from. I think it’s amazing when an actor can stretch themselves between two genres and do it so successfully. So I had immense respect for him before. But I love the show itself. And I also love The Office. That’s my other favorite show.

The episode on the 29th, It’s a Wonderful Lie, that’s a Christmas episode. Why is that?

Olivia: I think the producers wanted to save some episodes to air in 2008. Because of the strike, it was something a lot of shows had to do. It’s a great episode and they wanted to make sure people got a chance to see it. Of course, there’s our big Super Bowl episode after that. They’ve saved some really fabulous episodes for the next couple of weeks. That one is particularly interesting and the fact that it is a Christmas episode is odd and funny, but sort of is in the vein of House humor. It’s something House would do, to have Christmas late.

Continue reading the interview here.

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Photo source: WireImage.com.

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