Why Olivia Munn contemplated stepping away from acting before Your Friends and Neighbors role

Before starring in Jonathan Tropper’s newest dramedy ‘Your Friends and Neighbors’, Olivia Munn had taken steps to quit acting altogether. In recent times, Munn has become a mother, experienced almost a year of postpartum anxiety and has waited out the COVID-19 pandemic before she could act in ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’, her first appearance in an ongoing series in years.

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times on a visit to New York, Olivia Munn shared pictures and videos of her 3-year-old son, Malcolm, and 6-month-old daughter, Méi, who were in Los Angeles with their father.

Munn later expressed that just two years ago, she was recovering from months of anxiety attacks that followed Malcolm’s birth. The Newsroom actress had not worked for some time and felt unfulfilled by her acting job, which made her contemplate a transition into editing, writing or producing.

“I called my agents and my manager and said, ‘I’m done being in front of the camera — don’t put me up for anything," she shared.

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Olivia Munn embraces new opportunity with her role in ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’

Her perspective shifted when she was given the opportunity to star in the show. Munn portrays a divorced character on the show. The logline shared on IMDb states,

A hedge fund manager resorts to burglary after losing his job, targeting wealthy neighbors to maintain his family's lifestyle, but makes a fateful error breaking into the wrong home.

Olivia Munn shared that she was drawn to the show for its scathing critique on the ultra wealthy of the American society.

“There’s a carelessness with which they live their life,” Munn expressed.

“They feel impervious to the world and it’s so fascinating to watch these people crumble.” Her own character, Munn explained, was “a survivor — she’s going to do anything to maintain her place and take care of her children.”

The show has already received an early season two renewal and premiered on April 11, 2025 with its first two episodes. It casts Jon Hamm, Amanda Peet, Hoon Lee, and Lena Hall beside Olivia Munn.

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Her battle with cancer:

Olivia Munn took an online exam called the Tyrer-Cuzick risk assessment test. A score of 20% on this test indicates a high risk of developing breast cancer — Munn’s result came in at 37.3%, well above that threshold.

After undergoing an MRI scan, the actress had a conversation with her doctor, she describes the conversation with stunned disbelief.

“I didn’t let her sit down,” Munn recalled.

“I did the thing that I’ve always seen in movies. I said, ‘Is it cancer?’ She said, ‘Yes, it is cancer.’ And as she’s talking me through it, I’m thinking, this is happening to me?”

She compared her experience to past moments in her life when she’d suffered being in a car accident and thinking to herself:

“I don’t want to be here.”

“It’s like screaming, but nobody can hear you, no matter how much I scream,” she explained. “It doesn’t matter how much I beg or cry or negotiate. I have no say in this situation. I just pray that I make it out on the other side.”

Munn, endured procedures, surgeries and further treatment for breast cancer for months ahead of filming and is said to return in Season 2, Jonathan Tropper shared.

“We had originally planned for that character as a one-season character, but after working with her for a little while, I think we had consensus across the board, we wanted her.”

In her interview with the Los Angeles Times, Olivia Munn also shared that she does not want any special treatment because of what she had to experience.

“That’s how I handle life,” Munn explained.

“I don’t like when it’s sugarcoated. I don’t like to be placated.”

She added, “Going through a year of battling cancer and five surgeries, the goal is not to be known as a sick person. The goal is to get to the other side and be back to normal.”