Olivia Wilde - Olivia Wilde idolised Jennifer Garner

Olivia Wilde idolised Jennifer Garner

Olivia Wilde idolised Jennifer Garner on the set of their new film 'Butter'.

The 28-year-old actress plays a stripper called Brooke in the satirical comedy movie alongside Jennifer - who portrays Laura Pickler, the ambitious wife of a skilled butter sculptor.

Olivia admits she was in awe of 40-year-old Jennifer because she managed to balance work with the responsibilities of looking after her three children - Violet, six, Seraphina, three, and six-month-old Samuel.

Olivia gushed: ''I would stare at smart Jennifer, who has three children and shepherded this project, and I'd follow her around in her arms if she'd let me.''

The 'Tron: Legacy' star had wanted the get the film - a political satire of the 2008 Democratic Presidential primary contest in the US - made for years but it was only when Jennifer showed an interest that the film got off the ground.

Olivia added to the New York Post newspaper: ''I play Brooke, a sardonic stripper with a heart of gold ... This outrageous comedy was on my list for years. I was obsessed with it. Willing to fight for the role. But I couldn't get it going on my own. Then along came Jennifer Garner, who has a production company and - voila! - it got made.

''It's sort of a political diatribe, picking on the Tea Party a little, but no characters like Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann. It really makes fun of the delicious extremism in our country. And then, of course, on top of the whole thing, naturally, there's a butter contest.''

Olivia also confessed she is a reluctant gym goer and does very little exercise to maintain her enviable figure.

She said: '' I'm not good in terms of self care or maintenance. I'm a workaholic. And I love fun. I go once in a while to a gym to take care of myself, but only out of guilt and shame.''