Photo Source: HBO
Munn is the first to admit she's taken an unusual career path, but along the way she has picked up admirers and mentors such as Stewart and Soderbergh. Being a first-generation American (her mother was born and raised in Vietnam), she comes from a family of doctors and engineers, and acting wasn't viewed as a viable career. "To my mom, there's only one person who can be an actor, and that's Tom Cruise," she says. "Acting was seen as a real risk." Thus far, the chances she has taken have paid off handsomely. Take the "Newsroom" job.
In 2011, Munn found herself available for other projects when her midseason series "Perfect Couples" was axed. "Some people said that it was canceled, but I like to say that it was a successful miniseries," she says. "When it ended, I was offered about five other shows but also told of a list of shows that would be coming up in the next few weeks. And the last one they mentioned was a new Aaron Sorkin show for HBO, and I just snapped to attention."
Sorkin, a fan of "The Daily Show," agreed to meet with Munn but was upfront about the many variables still in play, including the uncast leading man. Munn's representatives advised her to move on and take a sure thing, but she held firm. "I felt like they were going to lock me in a closet at one point and be like, 'Just take this one show!' " Munn says, "because I kept turning things down just in the hopes of auditioning for Sorkin. I hadn't even lined up the audition yet. And some really big actress could come along and want the role, and it would be too late for me." Munn was about to cave when Stewart asked her two simple questions. Says Munn, "He said, 'If you take another show and don't wait for Sorkin, will you regret it?' I said yes. He said, 'If you don't take one of these shows and don't end up getting Sorkin, will you regret it?' I said no. He said, 'That's your answer.' " Munn did get the audition and knocked it out of the park. Sorkin later told her that after her audition, they closed the casting and offered her the part.
Because she's so associated with her beauty, having modeled for magazines such as Playboy and Maxim, Munn says she paused when the character of Sloan was originally described as "the sexy financial analyst." She says, "I just didn't like that it said 'sexy' in there." But Sorkin also told her -- and it's mentioned in the show -- that Sloan is the smartest person in the building. "That's something I was really thankful for, because a lot of bad stereotypes get pushed out there, so I think it's good to perpetuate the good stereotypes when we can," she says. She admits to initially feeling a bit out of her league among co-stars such as Jeff Daniels and Sam Waterston, but again, Sorkin put her at ease. "I think he knows how hard I work. I'm pretty much off book by the time of the table read," she says. "And one day he said to me, 'You're doing what everyone else is doing. You deserve to be here.' And that meant everything to me."
Munn says booking "The Newsroom" legitimized her in the eyes of others, which might have helped her land on the short list for "Magic Mike" and Soderbergh. "Work begets work, and people knew I must be somewhat capable if I was doing a Sorkin show," she says. But when she got the call to come in for casting director Carmen Cuba, she was so busy she almost passed. "I'd much rather not go in than go in and not do a great job," she says. Cuba convinced her to come in for a work session and put her audition on tape. "A couple days later, I got a call saying Steven had watched it, and I was offered the role."
Munn continually expresses disbelief at her good fortune; she tells a story of recently driving down Sunset Boulevard and spotting the giant billboard for "The Newsroom" with her name on it. "I had to pull over," she says. "I would have literally done craft service on that show, so to be in it is just amazing." Although if the acting thing doesn't pan out, Munn says she won't rule out a backup career in catering. "Seriously. I make a great cup of noodle."
