Hours before Leslie Cockburn’s C’Ville Stand Up and Vote rally at The Jefferson Theater last Sunday, the iconic Downtown Mall venue was bustling with the Fifth Congressional District candidate’s staff and volunteers. They were hard at work, transforming The Jefferson into a suitable space for the supporters who had already begun to form a line outside. These attendees’ buttons and shirts asserted support for Cockburn, but with a lineup as impressive as this event’s — boasting Cockburn’s daughter and actress Olivia Wilde, her fiancé and fellow actor Jason Sudeikis along with a host of figures both political and musical — C’Ville Stand Up and Vote felt more like a festival of culture than a partisan rally.
And like any festival, the headliner — Cockburn herself — would not take the stage until late in the event. Wilde and Sudeikis would give intermittent speeches teasing the candidate’s arrival, just as opening performances would tease the presence of the celebrity couple at the start of the evening. In this preliminary time before they revealed themselves to the public, Wilde and Sudeikis sat down with The Cavalier Daily for an interview about the campaign and why this one was particularly vital for young voters.
The interview was conducted at The Flat: Takeaway Creperie, the first in a series of incongruous details about the experience. The tiny café behind the Jefferson Theater had already closed for the day, but the patio, with its wrought-iron chairs and painted benches, was perfect for an intimate conversation with the pair.
It was one of the first fall days to actually earn the title, and Wilde and Sudeikis were both dressed accordingly — Wilde in a tan coat over a white sweater with a rainbow zigzag, Sudeikis in a puffy Spyder jacket and a brown flat cap that pressed his wavy, salt-and-pepper hair closer to his scalp. A Cockburn button obscured the arachnid logo on his jacket.
Wilde had a lot to say about communication. When asked about how her celebrity status informed the nature of her political activity, Wilde said it didn’t really have much of an effect. To her, she stressed, her fame was just a means for better and more wide-spread communication.
“There’s a desire to communicate, and certainly with the platform that comes with success in our industry, there’s an ability to communicate to a large number of people at the same time,” Wilde said, adding that this ability was something she tried to use responsibly. Later in the interview, she cited her communication skills as a method to do what she called her “role as an American” — in her words, “to do my job, to stand up for what I believe in.”
Wilde wanted to make it clear, however, that she didn’t think her mom needed the help of any celebrities. “She’s got the support of so many incredible civil rights leaders and activists from all different places,” Wilde said, citing veterans, rabbis, educators and doctors as allies.
Wilde is an excellent actress, but she showed a level of sincerity in this interview she had never achieved onscreen. Watching her speak so animatedly of Cockburn’s achievements and qualifications leaves no doubt that Wilde fully believes in the abilities of her mother.
And Wilde wasn’t the only one. Sudeikis stayed quiet for much of the interview, watching his fiancée, nodding at her points and chuckling at a few — the most audible laugh came when Wilde said, “I think in general with my mom, tell her not to do something and she’ll take it on as a dare.” When the conversation took on a broader, more national focus, Sudeikis immediately found his voice.
Much of what he said directly or indirectly criticized President Donald Trump. Sudeikis cited “cheating” and “name-calling” as two of Trump’s tactics to get elected, suggesting that his mother-in-law sought to rise above such behavior.
“For me, the last couple of years has been a call to arms for a return to decency — just a return to empathy,” he said, adding that much of political discourse has “just become tribalism.”
Not known for dramatic acting roles, it was arresting to see Sudeikis speak so passionately about his political beliefs — though humor still found its way into some of his statements. In one of his most biting criticisms of Trump, Sudeikis called the President “a man with a limited vocabulary and an even more limited amount of empathy.”
Sudeikis also wanted to talk about young voters, particularly the apathy sometimes associated with the demographic. He rejected the idea that young people are the future, saying instead, “You guys are now.” Sudeikis also cited the notoriously low young voter turnout of 2014 — about one in five 18- to 29-year-olds voted. “If it became two in five — that’s lights out,” he said.
“Lights out in a good way,” Wilde clarified, laughing.
Wilde stressed the importance of young voters as well, describing issues “that will continue to affect them long after these representatives are dead and gone.” Of these, she focused on climate change and healthcare, labeling both as human crises and saying that neither should be partisan.
Wilde explained the conflicting fear and excitement that such issues made her feel. “This is kind of a scary time to be alive, but it’s also an opportunity to really make a difference,” she said, adding that her mother is seeking to make such a difference. “I’m proud of my mom for standing up for the people of this district and for listening to them really carefully and comprehensively and taking what they say to heart.” She called Cockburn a “pragmatic person,” citing pragmatism as another lost art of American politics that her mother and Americans generally “really are eager to regain.”
Wilde concluded with her thoughts on the overwhelming need for active voters. “Every election seems like the most important of our lifetime, but this one is really important,” she said.
Back at The Jefferson, female folk trio After Jack was finishing a set of covers along with an original called “We Believe,” dedicated to Cockburn’s cause. The faintest reverberations from the upright bass could be heard from The Flat, penetrating the back wall of the theater as a reminder that Wilde and Sudeikis had a rally to lead. They were incredibly gracious about the chance to be interviewed and expressed regret that they couldn’t talk longer. Then Wilde and Sudeikis were bustled back into the theater by Cockburn’s crew.
The brevity of the interview left some questions unanswered. Sudeikis spoke of the “tribalism” of political discourse and called for returns to empathy and decency, but failed to mention whether he considered Cockburn going after Republican opponent Denver Riggleman for his alleged Bigfoot fetish either decent or empathetic. In fact, Riggleman was not mentioned at all. Though both celebrities expressed seemingly sincere opinions about the candidate, the short interview felt, to some extent, like a celebrity meet-and-greet.
A similar feel permeated the event itself, starting when Wilde took the stage just a few minutes after the interview — Sudeikis wouldn’t appear until later in the evening. But to Wilde’s credit, she quickly refocused to her mother’s campaign — the reason, presumably, everyone was there. “I’m so passionately excited about what you’re going to do here,” she said as part of her introduction to the diverse, energetic mass of students and locals alike. The mass cheered in response. “And I can tell you, the nation is watching.”
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