Olivia Munn told Insider making "Violet " was "uncomfortable."- She said she lives in self-doubt just like her character in the movie.
In "Violet," Olivia Munn plays the titular role - a Hollywood executive who, despite flourishing at her job, is treated like a doormat at work and her own conscience (voiced by Justin Theroux) constantly stops her from having any enjoyment in life. It's a career-best performance from Munn and a powerful examination of how fear can take over someone's life.
But for the actor, 41, her performance goes way deeper than what we see on screen. She admitted to Insider that playing Violet brought her own fears and self-doubts to the surface.
"The movie was very uncomfortable to do," Munn told Insider over Zoom alongside "Violet" director
Munn said she instantly related to Bateman's script because "the voice" was very much inside her.
In the movie, Theroux's voice is heard in voiceover talking down to Munn's Violet character when she gets compliments at work or feels good in her relationships. It results in her sabotaging everything, and everyone, in her path.
Munn said in her personal life those feelings of self-doubt intensified once she began to come into the public spotlight in the early 2000s after hosting the popular game show "Attack of the Show!"
"It came and it stayed," Munn admits of her self-doubt and self-hate.
"And this was before social media," she continued. "I would be on forums or different comment sites where people would be attacking me for every little thing - the way I looked, the way I dressed - so I didn't know how to handle that so I would retaliate back."
Munn's character in "Violet" has a similar trait. In one scene when she has a chance encounter with her ex-boyfriend and sees that he has a better life than her, Violet's inner voice fills her with self-doubt leading to her lashing out at her ex in the middle of a parking lot.
"What this movie shows is when you make those fear-based decisions you just get farther and farther away from who you really are," Munn said.
Bateman said fear-based decisions is what fueled her to write the script. She calls "Violet" a revenge movie because it's about a woman finally taking her life back from herself.
"I wanted to show the mask, which is making decisions out of fear," Bateman said, noting that's the reason why she intentionally made Violet's inner voice male; to identify that her negative thoughts are objective.
"It's about going to a life where decisions are made out of instinct," Bateman continued. "And when you get there you become your true self and enjoy life."
Munn admits she's still working on that.
During filming, she said sometimes she would show up to set filled with so much self-doubt that Bateman would pull her aside and ask if she was okay.
Since filming wrapped, Munn, despite receiving the best reviews of her career for her performance and being pregnant with her first child with John Mulaney, said it's been hard to get the Violet character out of her system.
"Filming was emotionally taxing but then afterwards I had a big comedown," Munn said. "This was the last thing I filmed before the pandemic hit."
Munn said she thought taking the rest of 2019 off after making "Violet" was the right move as the role took so much out of her, but being stuck at home with her thoughts during lockdown made it tougher for her to get out of character.
"I should have went right to making a comedy or something," Munn joked.
"Violet" opens in select theaters on Friday. It will be available On Demand beginning November 9.