Olivia Wilde thinks sex scenes haven't been "particularly realistic" for a long time.

The 41-year-old actress has claimed that Gen Z wants to see less sex in movies, observing that X-rated film scenes are often unrealistic.

The Hollywood star told Variety at the Sundance Film Festival: "I think Gen Z is pretty smart … the way that sex has been portrayed in film for a long time hasn't been particularly realistic.

"Therefore, there's been this movement now towards authenticity, which is really good. So I choose to interpret that statistic maybe as Gen Z saying, 'We don't want to see inauthenticity anymore. We want to see real relationships, and we want to have something that feels more genuine.' So I like that."

Olivia's new movie, The Invite, tells the story of a married couple experiencing a rough patch in their relationship. The couple ultimately start to engage in weekly orgies with their neighbours amid their relationship troubles.

Olivia - who directed the film - explained: "This movie is an incredibly irreverent, playful take on showing this part of the sexual revolution of a young person. The whole idea is to try things, live your life, experiment, fall on your face and get back up.

"Sex is used as a metaphor for something that's really applicable to everybody's experience. You're going to go through life, and you should just be very open to what it allows you to experience."

Meanwhile, Olivia previously explained how her acting experiences have informed her approach to directing.

The film star told Interview magazine: "I've been in some really bad ones, and now I think, 'I did those to learn all the cautionary tales that would help me define myself as a director: how I will never speak to a crew, how I will never speak to actors, how I will never schedule a movie.' All of that comes from those bad experiences."