Olivia Munn Claims Alec Baldwin Got Her Fired from '30 Rock'
Olivia Munn is looking back at almost starring on 30 Rock.
In a new interview, the 45-year-old Your Friends & Neighbors actress claimed that Alec Baldwin blocked her from landing a role on the NBC comedy series because he didn’t think she looked old enough to play his love interest.
Keep reading to find out more…While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Olivia said that she had landed the role of Avery Jessup on 30 Rock, but two days later, she was told that Alec, 68, thought that “looked too young.”
“Another two days later, ‘No, no, no. They think you’re perfect. You’re going to fly out on Saturday,’” Olivia recalled. “Friday, ‘No, no, no. Alec thinks that you look too young and he’s putting his foot down.’”
The role of Avery ultimately went to Elizabeth Holmes. Avery, a financial CNBC reporter and Jack Donaghy’s (Baldwin) future wife, is introduced during season four in 2010. At the time, Alec was 52, Elizabeth was 36, and Olivia was 30.
Olivia said that while she knows starring on 30 Rock would have been her “big break,” she wasn’t “devastated” by the firing.
“I only thought to myself, ‘Wow, look how far I got,’” she said. “I ended up not getting the job because of something I couldn’t control.”
“On my ability and my acting, I got it,” Olivia added. “It gave me so much confidence.”
She also said that getting the 30 Rock job offer was enough for her.
“These people, iconic people — Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, Grace Wu at NBC casting — they all thought that I was good enough to have gotten the offer,” Olivia said. “That’s what I needed. Whether or not I got the job didn’t affect my confidence.”
Looking back, Olivia said that she “felt really good” going into the audition.
“I dressed for the part, which I’d never really done before. I signed in and I walked outside near the soundstages,” she recalled. “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],” she continued. “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.”
If you didn’t see, Olivia shared the emotional story behind now-husband John Mulaney‘s proposal after her cancer surgeries.