Olivia Wilde was a guest on The Late Show with Seth Meyers Thursday night. I went into it not expecting much but she was funny, personable and she knows how to tell a good anecdote. Olivia of course stars on Vinyl, the new HBO show about the music scene in New York City in the 1970s. Being on an HBO show means that she has to do plenty of nudity, but she sounded ok with that. Wilde explained that she wears a merkin (pubic wig) on the show and that affords her some modesty. She also joked that excessive pubic hair is the only way you can sometimes tell the era of a show.
On how kids don’t have to stay up late to see nudity on HBO
That is the gift HBO provides to young people who can stay up late enough to see boobs. Remember Real Sex and you tried so hard to stay up because you were curious? Now Vinyl provides that at 9pm.On her merkin and the “merkin wall”
I was naked on the show last week but I got to wear a Merkin… a pubic wig. It makes you feel a little less naked. It is a thing on our show. We have the ‘merkin wall’ for all the women on our show. You design your own. It’s like build-a-bush. You pick the color, it’s great.Why the merkins are necessary
In the 70s people let it all grow out, which I think is now the only way you can tell you’re watching a show taking place in the past. We’ve co-opted fashion now… you see the pubic hair and you’re like ‘This happened a long time ago.’She was self conscious about the merkin too
I was so vocal about it being fake [on set] because I was horrified that background actors might think this was actually my real body hair. So I was walking around like ‘Woah, check this fake merkin out everyone.’On presenting at the Oscars with Ali G by surprise
I was so delighted but I had no idea. He showed up last minute and looked very nervous [and was covering his mouth]. The second the stage manager went away he sprung into action and pulled out the hat and the glasses and the glove and was like ‘Tuck my hair in!’ I am a huge Ali G fan and I was so thrilled that he was doing this. It was literally as Chris Rock was saying our names. I couldn’t contain my glee. He is such a champion because he’s never allowed back.
[From Late Night with Seth Meyers, video below]
I have news for her. The kids who are peeping the nudie shows on HBO have access to a lot more titillating material than we ever did when we waited for shows to air, and if their parents block that they’re watching everything on demand anyway. No one waits for shows to air anymore, but I could so relate to doing that. DVRs came out when she was in high school so she technically may not have had to stay up. There’s also the sneakiness factor though/
The first time I heard about merkins was when Evan Rachel Wood explained how Kate Winslet convinced her to use one for Mildred Pierce. That was such a great miniseries. It’s available on HBOGo if you’re interested, as is every episode of Real Sex ever made. We live in incredible times.
Here’s Wilde’s interview:
photos credit: WENN.com
