Olivia Munn Says Alec Baldwin Cost Her a 30 Rock Romance Role
Olivia Munn says she was on the brink of a major 30 Rock role—until a key actor blocked her. The 45-year-old recalls walking into the NBC comedy audition brimming with confidence and, for the first time, dressing exactly like the character.
Here is one of those near-miss Hollywood stories that makes you wince and nod at the same time: Olivia Munn says she actually booked a big 30 Rock role back in the day — and then lost it because Alec Baldwin thought she looked too young to play opposite him.
The audition that clicked
Munn, 45, walked through the whole thing in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Friday, April 3. She went all in on the read — even dressed for the part, which she says she never did — stayed in character, and felt locked in. The work paid off. She got the call that she booked it, and, as she tells it, she protected her headspace by refusing to spiral into envy or compare herself to other actresses waiting on the same call.
The snag (per Munn): Alec Baldwin
Then came the whiplash. According to Munn, Baldwin — who played Jack Donaghy on the NBC comedy that launched in 2006 — did not sign off on her as his love interest because he thought she looked too young. What followed, she says, was a back-and-forth that would break most people.
- Day 1: She is told she has the job.
- Two days later: She hears Alec thinks she looks too young to play opposite him.
- Two more days later: The reversal — she is told she is perfect and will fly out Saturday.
- That Friday: Another reversal — Alec still thinks she looks too young and is putting his foot down.
Us Weekly says they have reached out to Baldwin's team for comment.
Who got the part
Elizabeth Banks ultimately stepped in and played Avery Jessup, a financial reporter who becomes connected to Baldwin's Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock.
How Munn processed it
Munn is very clear that she was not devastated. In her telling, she took the near-win as proof that she could hang with the 30 Rock brain trust. Knowing that Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, and Grace Wu in NBC casting thought she was good enough to get the offer was the confidence boost she needed, job or no job.
"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."
What came next
The audition was way back in 2010. After that, Munn landed Sloan Sabbith on The Newsroom, and she now stars in Apple TV 's hit series Your Friends and Neighbors. She had seriously considered stepping back from acting to focus on producing and investing, but this latest show pulled her back in. She says she is excited to be on it, would happily say yes to another project if it genuinely thrills her, but she is not out there chasing the next thing — she does not want to jump back on the hamster wheel just to keep moving.