Nick Kroll talks about the "Don’t Worry, Darling" drama. Image Source: Page Six
Nick Kroll talks about the "Don’t Worry, Darling" drama.
Nick Kroll, who recently starred in Olivia Wilde’s "Don’t Worry Darling," shared that he first got to know about the drama that surrounded the movie when he was on the red carpet during the Venice International Film Festival, where the movie premiered for the first time.
The actor who portrayed the character of Dean, who is Bunny’s husband, played by Olivia Wilde, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and said that the backlash he faced for the TV series Caveman that premiered in 2007 had prepared him to be a part of something that everyone was interested in, but added that the trailer of the movie, 'Don't Worry Darling', came out and people were excited about it. Nick said that people have been thinking about the movie for a while now.
Don’t Worry Darling cannot be talked about without mentioning the drama that surrounds it, and Nick Kroll said that he was not a part of the drama and he was not distancing himself at all, but he was not doing press at that point. He compared the movie with his 2007 ABC Sitcom Cavemen, stating that people were talking about the show from the moment it was picked because it was based on a commercial, and when it premiered, people saw it for something else besides the commercial.
But Nick added that with "Don’t Worry Darling," they made the movie in the thick of COVID, a pre-vaccine time when L.A. was an epicenter and it was incredibly stressful. The actor added that they were working hard and when he was hanging out with other people making the movie, he had a blast.
The movie has been in the middle of controversies and rumors since the moment the trailer was released. During the premiere, Harry Styles, who is the male lead of the movie, was accused of spitting on co-star Chris Pine, but a representative for Chris Pine instantly shut down the rumors, stating that nothing of the sort happened at the premiere. The hostility between Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh was also pointed out by fans a lot, and there were reports that Florence was not very happy with the dynamics between Olivia and Harry while they were filming.
Olivia Wilde has appeared in a lot of interviews and clarified that there is no animosity between her and Florence Pugh and in every interview she has always appreciated and praised the actress for her work, but Florence Pugh has never said a word. Forty members of the 'Don't Worry Darling' crew issued a statement saying that all of the assertions and accusations are completely unfounded and untrue and that as a crew they have prevented acknowledging the absurd rumors encompassing the film that they are so grateful for, but felt compelled to rectify the unnamed sources quoted in a recent Vulture article.
The crew members said that the allegations were untrue. In an interview with Variety, Olivia Wilde mentioned that it’s harder for women to get a second chance at directing a movie as fewer people will invest in the second movie of a woman than a man.
In her interviews, she has revealed a lot about the drama, beginning with how Harry Styles was cast and Shia LaBeouf was let go. It was later discovered that Olivia Wilde had fired him, and she tried to explain that Shia's process was not favorable to the ideology she expected in her production and that his process seemed to require aggressive energy, which she does not believe in. Olivia also stated that Shia's allegations of abuse were a factor in her decision to fire him.
Olivia stated that she believes that the most effective way to encourage individuals to do their best work is to create a safe, trusting environment. Her ultimate responsibility is to protect the production and the cast. That was her responsibility. She went on to say that she wishes him well-being and evolution because she believes in restorative justice. Shia LaBeouf wrote an open letter to Olivia Wilde along with sharing some audio clips and text messages in which he mentioned that he was never fired but he decided to leave the movie because her co-star did not have the time to rehearse. Olivia in following interviews made it clear that she chose Florence Pugh over Shia.
The actress-director also discussed how she was blown away by Florence Pugh's work, declaring there was something about her youthfulness, innocence, and innocence that made sense for the story, and she brought it in with her. Another point of contention was how Harry Styles was paid three times more than Florence Pugh, to which Olivia Wilde responded that it was just a clickbait narrative and that the subsequent reaction about a nonexistent pay disparity between lead and supporting actors upset her.
