Olivia Wilde turned heads when she tongued-down Mischa Barton on The O.C., but now this sex-oozing 22-year-old officially steals the show in Alpha Dog. Complex caught up with the No. 1 stunna and got her to spill the beans on full-frontal nudity, making out with Mischa, and what’s eating Emile Hirsch (hint: not her!).

Interview: Richard A. Martin; Photography by Robert Maxwell

How did Emile handle it?

OLIVIA WILDE: Well, Emile was funny, because he's so good at staying in character. And he was really serious in that scene. He didn't want there to be any cuddliness about it; he wanted to be unable to be sexually aroused in the scene. [Laughs] He's so affected by what's going on. And it's hilarious that I completely have no respect for that.

Pardon the pun, but was it hard?

OLIVIA WILDE: It was a difficult scene to do because a lot of times in love scenes you giggle in between and you're like, "Hee hee, we're naked," but there was no laughing. That scene Nick wrote once he met me and we talked about the character. It was kind of a last minute deal and most of it was improvised. It was just crazy.

It seems like from your background you probably haven't been in any situations like that in your life before…

OLIVIA WILDE: Absolutely not. In a sleazy motel room, chain-smoking? I definitely hadn't been anywhere near that situation, and that's what made it so fun. I think every character I'd played up to that point was a really big reflection of myself, or a version of myself. And this character was the biggest departure from me.

Really? How was being Mischa Barton's girl-toy on The O.C. a reflection of you?

OLIVIA WILDE: Well, The O.C., apart from the sexuality of that character—she was a lot like me in her groundedness and being well-beyond her years.

What about your run on The O.C.? How was it dealing with the news leaking that Mischa was gonna kiss a girl, and then you're that girl?

OLIVIA WILDE: People were so shocked, as if that were the first time it had ever been done, and it was the thousandth time it had been done on television. I think the fact that it was Mischa made it an even bigger scandal, because she was a teen icon of femininity and beauty. But I think suddenly everyone was like, Oh my God, she's daring. Even though I think she had done it before on other jobs.

She'd kissed other girls?

OLIVIA WILDE: She'd worked with Evan Rachel Wood on Once And Again, a teen show. And I think they had a storyline that was similar.

But Mischa said you're a better kisser, right?

OLIVIA WILDE: Yeah, obviously (laughs).

What about hanging with the cast of The O.C. How was that?

OLIVIA WILDE: They all went through an experience together, going from nothing to extreme fame. But they were very welcoming. And no egos about it. I mean, Rachel Bilson, who I'm still friends with, she's so cool, completely unaffected. We were outside of a Golden Globes party and we were walking to my car and I have this beautiful blue '58 Chevy Biscayne. She was like, "Can I just ride with you?" She didn't wanna take a limo. So we got in my car, and about 65 photographers just…

Yeah, Olivia Wilde and Rachel Bilson…

OLIVIA WILDE: They jumped on top of my car and I'm thinking about my paint job, and I'm like, "This is a 1958, this is an original paint job!" Rachel's just sitting there and I'm like, What am I supposed to do? I can't back up or I'm gonna run them over. And she's just like, smile. She's so cool. You'd never guess, but this is what happens to her. And with Mischa it's even more extreme.

So what's with the '58 Chevy? Do you have a thing with cars?

OLIVIA WILDE: I love old cars. I grew up on the East Coast, and I always thought if I lived on the West Coast, the first thing I'd want is an old, classic car. It used to be a '54 Bel Air that was my dream car, and then I saw this '58 Chevy, and I was like, this is it. It's so much better than the Bel Air. It's a little funkier looking than the Bel Air, and I was like, That's more like me [Laughs]. I love it. I love my car. Home // GIRLS // COVER GIRLS // OLIVIA WILDE