‘The Rook’: Olivia Munn Recalls How ‘The Newsroom’ Taught Her About the Importance of a Character’s Style

Starz’s new thriller The Rook takes place in a world where countries have top secret spy agencies staffed with agents who have superpowers. One such agent, Myfawny Thomas (Emma Greenwell) wakes up with amnesia, the sole survivor of a violent attack near London’s Millennium Bridge. Following notes and video messages left by her own self, Myfawny attempts to figure out not only who she is and what she can do, but who she can trust in the dangerous “Checquy.”

Adding to the intrigue? An American agent named Monica Reed (Olivia Munn). She’s arrived in London to investigate what’s going on with her British rivals, and to mourn the sudden passing of someone she secretly loves. Star Olivia Munn told Decider during Winter TCA that she was attracted to The Rook because of all these twists and turns. “I love British spy thrillers and piecing things together and watching shows about collusion and corruption,” she said.

Munn also explained that she could relate deeply to Monica as the daughter of a military family.
“I saw her as just a classic fish out of water, but a fish out of water who has learned how to breathe on land. She is the only American in the story, and she’s very different from the rest of them.” Munn said.

“[Americans are] used to people being taken put off by how blunt we can be,” she added. “She can sense the uncomfortableness people have in her bluntness which I think she finds that humorous. I think that she kind of gets a little kick out of pushing the limits because most people won’t.”

When Monica arrives in London, she stomps in with nothing but a backpack and a confident attitude, immediately taking charge. Munn told Decider that a lot of thought went into Monica’s distinct style. Everything from her footwear to that backpack needed to fit within the reality of The Rook.

“[Monica] found out that a loved one had been killed. She throws herself into a backpack and heads out. Everything that she owns during the show has to fit into a backpack. And I wanted her to also wear stuff that I felt comfortable in,” Munn said.

Comfort was important, but also the sense of wear and tear. Munn said, “The suit that I wear is a vintage Jean-Paul Gautier that belonged to the costume designer herself. I kept wanting things that were beaten up, and so she had to go into her own closet and give me her own clothes.”

“One of my biggest pet peeves is when people are playing detectives or cops and you’re wearing heels or like a boot with a heel,” Munn said. “Look, I love a boot with a heel, but that’s not going to help you run faster. That’s not going to be good.”

“Clothing is a big identifier for everyone,” Munn told Decider, recalling how a behind-the-scenes wardrobe shift on The Newsroom changed everything for her character, Sloan Sabbith.

“When I did the pilot episode, we had a male costumer designer, a lot older, and he wanted me to wear this turtleneck and this oversized suit and nude pantyhose and low pumps. And he said, ‘You’re the smartest person in the building. The character is written this way. You need to be taken seriously.’ And I was just like so happy to be on the show, I didn’t want to say anything.” Munn shared that after the show was picked up, Sloan was cut from the pilot and introduced in Episode 2 — which meant that the character had an opportunity for a makeover.

“So when we went to series, we had a whole new costumer designer, this woman, and she came in and was so great. And she said to me, ‘Okay, what do you want to wear?'” Munn said. “I said, ‘I want to wear a sharp, fitted black suit and great heels.’ Because I don’t want to flaunt my sexuality, but I don’t want to apologize for it either. If a man walks in in a sharp, fitted Hugo Boss suit, nobody says anything. They don’t say that he’s using his physicality. But if a woman had to be frumpy in order to be taken seriously? What my character has is in her brain and no one can take that away from her and that mattered to me. I wanted her to be confident and not be apologetic.”

Monica Reed is yet another of Munn’s confident creations. You can see how she handles the perilous world of the Chequy when The Rook premieres on Starz this Sunday, June 30 at 8 PM ET/PT.

Where to stream The Rook