Kevork Djansezian-USA TODAY
In Hollywood, right or wrong, actresses historically have difficulty finding jobs once they reach a certain age. Olivia Munn, however, had the unique experience of being too young for a role.
During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter to promote the second season of her AppleTV+ show Your Friends & Neighbors, Olivia Munn recalled losing out on the 30 Rock role of Avery Jessup to Elizabeth Banks because series star Alec Baldwin apparently thought she was too young to play the girlfriend of his character Jack Donaghy.
At the time, Baldwin was 52 and Munn was 30, while Banks, born six years before Munn, was 36.
Olivia Munn says Alec Baldwin blocked her being cast as Avery Jessup on 30 Rock because he thought she was too young for the role
“I got the job — and then two days later, they were like, ‘Alec thinks that you look too young to play his love interest,'” Munn explained to THR.
“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.'”
To Munn’s credit, however, she did not take the rejection personally, saying: “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.”
While Munn might have missed out on 30 Rock, she has since landed roles on TV series such as The Newsroom, New Girl, Six, The Rook, Tales of the Walking Dead, and the aformentione Your Friends & Neighbors, which premiered its second season earlier this month on April 3.
On 30 Rock, Avery Jessup was a CNBC financial reporter and conservative pundit who became Jack Donaghy’s love interest and then wife. Jessup appeared on 30 Rock from Season 4 through Season 6, and was involved in a major subplot that saw the character be taken hostage in North Korea by Kim Jong-il.