Olivia Thirlby is an actress who does things on her own terms. She takes roles she believes in and supports causes that are close to her heart. That’s why she is a participant in iO Tillett Wright’s Self-Evident Truths Project. In a new interview with Brooklyn Magazine (with photos shot by iO), Olivia shares why she decided to be a part of a civil rights photography project that focuses on people who are “anything but 100 percent straight.” Olivia told the magazine:
When [iO] told me about this project, she asked me if I wanted to be a part of it and I did have to think about it for a minute. But ultimately I decided that absolutely yes I did want to be a part of this. It’s important for a lot of reasons. For me personally, it’s important to be a part of this because I feel it’s a way of me showing gratitude that I live surrounded by a community in which I don’t have to hide my sexual orientation. And no one should have to hide their sexual orientation. Loving people is a necessary part of being human, and it is very difficult to love people in secret. It’s a horrible thing to force people to do. And I am not one hundred percent straight. … I’m so lucky to have a job where it’s OK for me not to be in the closet.Though Olivia has not ever been closeted, this is the first time she’s spoken about her bisexuality publicly. Olivia played Ellen Page’s BFF in Juno and was initially set to star in the lesbian-themed werewolf film Jack & Diane with her before it took too long to become financed. Currently, Olivia is starring in the new film, The Darkest Hour and has lent her voice to the MTV animated series Good Vibes. Are you a fan of Olivia Thirlby? Read the rest of the interview for more on her career, her new short haircut and her hopes for her future.
