Olivia Munn on Losing "30 Rock" Role - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 04-04-2026, 12:06 PM

Olivia Munn Found her Confidence after Booking (and Losing) a Job on "30 Rock"
by Mikey O'Connell
April 3, 2026

When did you get confident in auditions?

Grace Wu at NBC casting brought me in for "30 Rock". I was getting to this place where I was really understanding the audition process.

Because when you go into audition, especially back then, it was so intimidating. You’d sign in and then you’d sit there waiting and there’d be people coming in to try to intimidate each other. One person would walk out of the casting office being like, “OK, great, so I’ll see you Saturday!” My God, they’re friends?

Or then somebody would walk out of the room crying and be like, “Hey guys, good luck!” She cried? She was able to cry? There’s all these things playing with your mind.

So going into the 30 Rock audition, I felt really good about everything. I dressed for the part, which I’d never really done before. I signed in and I walked outside near the soundstages.

Normally I’d want to be right there. I’d want them to see me. I just had this confidence like, “They’ll come find me.” I kept working on it until I got into the room. I just stayed in [the character]. I got the call that I booked the job, and I knew that I protected my psyche and kept myself from feeling envy and competition with the other women.

But you weren’t on 30 Rock, were you?

The end of that story is that I got the job … and then two days later, they were like, “Alec [Baldwin] thinks that you look too young to play his love interest.”

Another two days later, “No, no, no. They think you’re perfect. You’re going to fly out on Saturday.” On Friday, “No, no, no. Alec thinks that you look too young and he’s putting his foot down.” Then Elizabeth Banks got that role.

As you were telling this story, I couldn’t guess the role. Avery Jessup. Very Interesting.

Yeah. What was interesting is that I think back on that and it would have been such a big, big break for me. But I was not devastated.

I only thought to myself, “Wow, look how far I got.” I ended up not getting the job because of something I couldn’t control. On my ability and my acting, I got it. It gave me so much confidence.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv...rs-1236555303/

04-04-2026, 12:06 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,008	Olivia Munn on Losing "30 Rock" Role *Olivia Munn Found her Confidence after Booking (and Losing) a Job on "30 Rock"* by Mikey O'Connell April 3, 2026 When did you get confident in auditions? Grace Wu at NBC casting brought me in for "30 Rock". I was getting to this place where I was really understanding the audition process. Because when you go into audition, especially back then, it was so intimidating. You’d sign in and then you’d sit there waiting and there’d be people coming in to try to intimidate each other. One person would walk out of the casting office being like, “OK, great, so I’ll see you Saturday!” My God, they’re friends? Or then somebody would walk out of the room crying and be like, “Hey guys, good luck!” She cried? She was able to cry? There’s all these things playing with your mind. So going into the 30 Rock audition, I felt really good about everything. I dressed for the part, which I’d never really done before. I signed in and I walked outside near the soundstages. Normally I’d want to be right there. I’d want them to see me. I just had this confidence like, “They’ll come find me.” I kept working on it until I got into the room. I just stayed in [the character]. I got the call that I booked the job, and I knew that I protected my psyche and kept myself from feeling envy and competition with the other women. *But you weren’t on 30 Rock, were you?* The end of that story is that I got the job … and then two days later, they were like, “Alec [Baldwin] thinks that you look too young to play his love interest.” Another two days later, “No, no, no. They think you’re perfect. You’re going to fly out on Saturday.” On Friday, “No, no, no. Alec thinks that you look too young and he’s putting his foot down.” Then Elizabeth Banks got that role. As you were telling this story, I couldn’t guess the role. Avery Jessup. Very Interesting. Yeah. What was interesting is that I think back on that and it would have been such a big, big break for me. But I was not devastated. I only thought to myself, “Wow, look how far I got.” I ended up not getting the job because of something I couldn’t control. On my ability and my acting, I got it. It gave me so much confidence. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv...rs-1236555303/ Attached Images