Olivia Wilde Shares Her Instant Connection with Cooper Hoffman in Sundance’s I Want Your Sex: ‘I Love You’

Cooper Hoffman and Olivia Wilde.
Credit:

Arturo Holmes/Getty 

NEED TO KNOW

• I Want Your Sex, from writer-director Gregg Araki, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23
• The movie stars Olivia Wilde as an artist who hires Cooper Hoffman as her sexual muse, featuring Charli XCX, Daveed Diggs, Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, Johnny Knoxville, and Margaret Cho
• During the premiere’s Q&A, Wilde recalled finding immediate chemistry with Hoffman

Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman made a memorable appearance at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where their film I Want Your Sex premiered on January 23. The project, directed by indie filmmaker Gregg Araki, introduces Wilde as a provocative artist who employs Hoffman as her sexual muse. The film includes a range of intimate and unconventional themes.

At the premiere held at Eccles Center Theater, Wilde, 41, portrays a character who engages in various kink-related activities with Hoffman, 22. Wilde remarked during a post-screening Q&A that both she and Araki felt the dynamics between their characters needed depth beyond a simple dominant-submissive relationship. “There had to be something that made you actually, weirdly, in a teeny-tiny way, root for them and to feel that they had actual chemistry and kind of loved each other,” Wilde explained.

After initially signing onto the film, Wilde immediately felt a connection with Hoffman, stating, “the second I met Cooper, I was like, ‘huh, I love you.'”

Cooper Hoffman and Olivia Wilde.

Arturo Holmes/Getty 

I Want Your Sex also features performers like Charli XCX, Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, Daveed Diggs, Johnny Knoxville, and Margaret Cho. Co-written by Araki and Karley Sciortino, the film centers around an avant-garde Los Angeles art gallery that hosts a unique and complex sadomasochistic game. ]

Wilde conveyed her admiration for Araki’s filmmaking style during the Q&A, saying, “I was just so excited by Greg’s enthusiasm for the medium for the process. I wish more people made movies like him.” Araki, in return, acknowledged Wilde’s legacy in the industry, saying, “I’ve been a long-time fan of Olivia’s since — remember when she was the bisexual hot girl on The O.C.? … I think Olivia is a true, old-time, movie star.”

Mason Gooding, Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Gregg Araki and Chase Sui Wonders.

Arturo Holmes/Getty 

Araki, who has now premiered 11 films at Sundance, emphasized the importance of casting in directing. “Meeting Wilde, I just said, ‘To do this part, you got to just not give a f— and just want to take the plunge because I don’t want to compromise it. And she said, ‘Let’s go.’ And the rest was history. And then once Olivia was doing the movie, everybody wanted to be in it,” he recalled.

Hoffman expressed surprise and excitement at landing the role, stating, “I honestly didn’t think I’d get cast, so I just threw my hat in the ring and kept getting closer and closer. And then they said I got the job. And I was like, ‘Oh s—, I got to go do this.’ And I’m very happy I did.”

I Want Your Sex.

Lacey Terrell/ Courtesy of Sundance Institute

I Want Your Sex is one of two projects starring Wilde at the 2026 Sundance fest; she also directs and features in The Invite, which premieres on January 24.

The 2026 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 22 to February 1 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. This year’s festival marks the last iteration in Utah before the event relocates to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027. It is also the first festival following the passing of its founder, Robert Redford.