Olivia Wilde has poked fun at being compared to the terrifying Lord of the Rings creature Gollum.
Last month the actress and director, 42, attended the San Francisco International Film Festival, where she was promoting her new movie, The Invite.
However, a red carpet interview that went viral saw her subjected to thousands of comments about her appearance.
Despite some of the commentary about her looks being quite cruel, Olivia has now weighed in and responded to specific remarks that said she resembled the Middle Earth character.
In the book series, Gollum is described as a small, slimy creature with pale, lamp-like eyes and thin limbs.
‘She looks as if she had found the one ring,’ one person had posted on X after the interview was shared.
But clapping back at the criticism, Olivia decided to take a light-hearted approach when responding.
Posting a video on Instagram that had an image of her interview with the San Francisco Chronicle at the festival and one of the Lord of the Rings character Gollum, she captioned it: ‘Leave it to your little brother to give you the maximum amount of s***.’
In the clip her brother Charlie Cockburn, can be heard asking: ‘Olivia Wilde, do you care to address recent rumours that you’re a resurrected corpse?’
Leaning into the camera and responding, Olivia replied: ‘Listen, that’’ a fish-eye lens. And I admit, is that my best angle? Was that my best-ever look? No. No, it’s startling. It’s a startling image.’
She then went on to insist her appearance had looked so different due to the lens that had been used.
‘It was a fish-eye lens. I don’t know why I was so close to the camera. I didn’t have to be. That’s not the truth,’ she said as she and her brother laughed.
Addressing him, she then asked if he had ‘any more questions’, before adding: ‘I’m not dead.’
After the initial interview went viral, Olivia was defended by some against cruel comments.
‘It’s unflattering lighting and a bad camera lens. She otherwise looks beautiful and is aging gracefully,’ one person posted.
‘I think it may have been the camera settings, or a filter of whoever took that video. I saw a news clip where she didn’t look as bad,’ another agreed.
At the event Olivia had been promoting her film – her third directing following 2010’s Booksmart and 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling.
An English language remake of the Spanish film The People Upstairs by Cesc Gay, The Invite stars Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton.
The synopsis has teased: ‘A dinner party spirals into unexpected places when a couple invite their enigmatic neighbours over. Have they reignited the spark in their troubled marriage – or lit the match that burns it all down?’
At the Sundance Film Festival in January, it received a standing ovation.
When filming wrapped last year, she shared a post on Instagram which read: ‘I don’t yet have the words to say how meaningful this experience has been. So, for now just want to say THANK YOU to every brilliant, kind, hilarious person who made this production happen. I can’t wait to show the world what we all made together.’
Last week Olivia’s ex Harry Styles hit headlines after it was revealed he was engaged to actress Zoë Kravitz, whom he’d been dating for eight months.
A source told Page Six: ‘He is completely smitten. He would jump off a cliff for her.’ Meanwhile, it’s said Zoë ‘is on cloud nine.’ ‘No one in their circle is surprised,’ the insider added.
Olivia and Harry were together for nearly two years after meeting while working together on Don’t Worry Darling, which she directed and he starred in.
They broke up in November 2022, with Olivia now dating Ellie Goulding’s ex-husband, art dealer Caspar Jopling.
The couple were first spotted together publicly in September last year, when they were photographed kissing outside a restaurant in London.
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