There has been quite a bit of anticipation surrounding Olivia Wilde’s newest film, “Don’t Worry Darling,” from the moment it was announced. Not only is this Wilde’s next film after her directorial debut, “Booksmart,” went on to earn near-universal acclaim, but the film also has an incredible cast including Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, and Chris Pine. But in the early stages of development, the cast actually included Shia LaBeouf. That is until Wilde began working with him and she quickly fired him, replacing him with Styles.
Now, speaking to Variety, Olivia Wilde goes into detail about what led to the dismissal of Shia LaBeouf and why she felt it was necessary to fire the actor even though he was already announced as one of the stars. Previously, it was reported that she has a “zero asshole policy” and that led to the actor being dismissed, but now, Wilde is ready to dive deeper into the behavior that led to LaBeouf getting fired.
“I say this as someone who is such an admirer of his work,” explained Wilde. “His process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions. He has a process that, in some ways, seems to require a combative energy, and I don’t personally believe that is conducive to the best performances. I believe that creating a safe, trusting environment is the best way to get people to do their best work. Ultimately, my responsibility is to the production and to the cast to protect them. That was my job.”
As we now know, originally, Wilde wanted Harry Styles for the role. However, with Styles being busy with his music career, the filmmaker turned to LaBeouf instead. Then, as luck would have it, when it was time to replace LaBeouf, Styles’ schedule was suddenly clear, allowing for the pop star to take on the role.
Shortly after LaBeouf was dismissed from “Don’t Worry Darling,” allegations were publicized about alleged abuse against a former partner, singer FKA Twigs.
In response to those allegations, Wilde said, “A lot came to light after this happened that really troubled me, in terms of his behavior. I find myself just really wishing him health and evolution because I believe in restorative justice. But for our film, what we really needed was an energy that was incredibly supportive. Particularly with a movie like this, I knew that I was going to be asking Florence to be in very vulnerable situations, and my priority was making her feel safe and making her feel supported.”
So, it would appear that Wilde definitely doesn’t regret getting rid of LaBeouf before production began. In fact, she probably avoided some unnecessary drama. Now, we’ll have to wait and see how Harry Styles does in the role when “Don’t Worry Darling” hits theaters on September 23.
