Olivia Wilde‘s Broadway debut has been a painful one.
The actress told Today‘s Savannah Guthrie that throughout performances of 1984, which opens Thursday, she has already split her lip and broken her tailbone.
“We’re doing everything necessary to tell the story right, and it’s an intense story,” she said of her injuries in the “immersive” production. Additionally, co-star Tom Sturridge has gotten a broken nose, and four audience members have fainted during previews. “We’re throwing ourselves into it, and it’s worth it.”
Wilde and Sturridge star opposite Reed Birney in the new production of George Orwell’s dystopian novel, set in a future in which critical thought is suppressed by a totalitarian regime overseen by a party leader known as Big Brother. Newly adapted and directed by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan, the still-timely play transfers to Broadway after four hit U.K. runs as well as international tour stops.
“Heavy times call for heavy stuff,” Wilde explained of the revival, which marks her Broadway debut. “Broadway was something I always wanted to do. I never really felt like I could call myself an actor until I had done it, and now I feel like I’m earning my keep.”
The limited engagement of 1984 runs through Sept. 30 at the Hudson Theatre.
