Despite being in her late 20s at the time, Olivia Wilde says she didn't get a part in The Wolf of Wall Street because she was "too old."
In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Wilde says she auditioned for the role of Leonardo DiCaprio's wife in The Wolf of Wall Street, a part that ultimately went to Margot Robbie, and she was surprised to learn she was not chosen because of her age.
"The funniest thing I heard recently was I had heard for a part that I was too sophisticated. And I was like, 'Oh, that sounds nice. I like that feedback. I didn't get the part, but I'm a very sophisticated person,'" she said. "And then I found out later that they actually said 'old.' I want to make a translation sheet for Hollywood that's all the feedback your agents give you and then what it really means."
Wilde was 28 years old at the time of her audition, while Leonardo DiCaprio was 37. The studio instead went for 22-year-old Margot Robbie, as apparently DiCaprio's acting partner needed to be at least 15 years younger than him.
However, Wilde went on to say that she doesn't feel particularly angry about this, especially because she thought Robbie "kicked so much ass in that movie." In fact, the audition ultimately helped her get cast on HBO's Vinyl, which is created by The Wolf of Wall Street director Martin Scorsese.
Over the past few years, many prominent Hollywood actors have opened up about issues of ageism in the film industry. Last year, Maggie Gyllenhaal revealed that she, a 37-year-old actress, was told she was too old to play the love interest of a 55-year-old man in a movie, as we previously reported.
“It was astonishing to me," she said. "It made me feel bad, and then it made me feel angry, and then it made me laugh.”
Earlier this year, 50 Shades of Grey lead Dakota Johnson noted that the industry is brutal for older women, asking why her mother, Melanie Griffith, and her grandmother, Tippi Hedren, aren't in many popular films these days.