‘Don’t Worry Darling’ director Olivia Wilde discusses gender imbalance in Red Sea: “Girls are told to be an actress; boys are told to be a director”

Olivia Wilde said a gender imbalance still pervades Hollywood and the wider film industry, speaking during her in-conversation session at Red Sea International Film Festival.

“For many young women, when we love movies, as little girls, we’re told you should be an actress,” said Wilde. “When little boys say they love movies, people say ‘you should be a director’.”

In the hour-long session, Wilde regularly returned to the topic of gender inequality in the industry. “In acting, it’s the only job where the more experience you get, the less valuable you become – certainly for actresses,” said Wilde, who trained as an actress and worked on hit shows including The O.C. and House, before directing her first feature Booksmart in 2018.

“I want to become celebrated for my experience, as opposed to some sort of value placed on something that is inherently fleeting,” said the filmmaker, who followed up Booksmart with 2022 Venice out-of-Competition title Don’t Worry Darling.

Don’t Worry Darling debuted amid a significant publicity storm – much of it separate from the film itself.

Without directly addressing that issue, Wilde was critical of the affect of fame upon inventive work. “When you conflate filmmaking or acting with fame or large-scale acceptance, you immediately cut off the opportunity to do any risky work,” said said.

Being famed is like “the frog in boiling water concept,” continued Wilde – suggesting that it’s something you’re not entirely aware of while it is happening. “You have to always be working towards some more authentic version of the art you want to create, and allow it to be more ambitious – which doesn’t mean bigger, it probably just means more courageous.” 

Olivia Wilde says becoming famed is like “the frog in boiling water.”

“The damage that does to an artist is profound. The best thing is to ignore it in every possible way.”@RedSeaFilm #RSIFF24 pic.twitter.com/VS0qRvzm81

— Screen International (@Screendaily) December 8, 2024

“The damage [being recognised] does to an artist is profound, because you stop being as fearless,” she added. “Once you fear that you will be judged, you become self-conscious, in a way that’s never been good for any artist. So the best thing is to ignore [fame] in every possible way. I have really good mentors who always allowed me to see the meaningless of all of that stuff.”

“It would be amazing if this industry somehow allowed artists to be removed from it,” said Wilde.

American Wilde is half-Irish through her father, and holds Irish citizenship. She said it is her “dream” to make a film in Ireland, due to what she sees as “a sense of storytelling closer to its ancient art form. “There isn’t this separation between filmmakers, performers and the audience,” she said. “I love that community; there’s an ego-less, salt-of-the-earth approach to storytelling. The government also subsidises the arts in a way that’s incredibly impactful.”

Other topics during the hour-long session included the filmmaking process, with Wilde reserving criticism for how auditions are run. “The auditioning process is so flawed,” said Wilde, who worked as a casting director early in her career. “It strips actors of their singularity, their specificity. You see people trying to be the other people in the waiting room. ‘I’ll change my whole style to be like that person’ – it ruins people.”

She also spoke about her attempts to reduce hierarchy on her sets, including dislike of the phrase ‘talent on set’. “As though everybody’s not talented,” said Wilde. “We’re all crew, we’re all making the movies together. The actors should never be separated from the crew in that way. Actors don’t want that – I don’t know where that came from. It creates this awkwardness that doesn’t aid anyone.

Wilde did not broach the subject of future directorial projects in the discussion. As an actress, Wilde will next be seen in Gregg Araki’s thriller I Want Your Sex opposite Daveed Diggs, Charli XCX, Cooper Hoffman and Johnny Knoxville. 

The Red Sea conversation programme continues this afternoon with The Whale star Brendan Fraser.