Olivia Wilde
2 min read
Olivia Wilde (born Olivia Jane Cockburn, March 10, 1984, in New York City) is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She adopted her stage surname as a tribute to the writer Oscar Wilde. Raised in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. and in Ireland, she is the daughter of journalists Leslie Cockburn and Andrew Cockburn. She gained early television recognition through a recurring role as Alex Kelly on The O.C. (2004-2005), then built a wider audience playing Dr. Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical drama House (2007-2012). Notable film appearances include Tron: Legacy (2010), Cowboys and Aliens (2011), and Her (2013).
In Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), Wilde appeared uncredited as Gozer the Gozerian, the ancient Sumerian deity and primary antagonist who previously appeared in the original Ghostbusters (1984), where the character was portrayed by Slavitza Jovan. Director Jason Reitman reached out to Wilde directly by text message to offer the role. The physical body-performance aspects requiring unusual movement were handled by dancer Emma Portner, while the character's voice was provided by Shohreh Aghdashloo. During the filming of the farmhouse confrontation, Wilde broke character and laughed when Bill Murray's Peter Venkman began hurling insults at Gozer; Jason Reitman also directed Dan Aykroyd's Ray Stantz to join in and insult Gozer's godly aspects as a callback to the original film's climax.
As a director, Wilde made her feature debut with the teen comedy Booksmart (2019), which won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and earned widespread critical acclaim. She followed that with the psychological thriller Don't Worry Darling (2022) and subsequently directed The Invite (2026).
