Some of SA's comments about O&F over the past few years...
02/14/13 - SA's first tweet about Olicity:
04/24/13 - SA: “Just based on her [Felicity] knowing more about me than anyone at this point in my present day life, she can probably challenge me in ways that other people can’t, and that’s always attractive... [Oliver doesn’t see Felicity as just a little-sister-sidekick.] I think he sees her as a woman.”
05/14/13 - SA: "No, my girlfriend's not Felicity. I don't really have - she's not one of my love interests on the show. Emily Bett Rickards plays her, and she played an IT girl that was originally just in the third episode. She came on - and I remember talking to the producers afterwards and saying, 'this girl is fantastic' and just allowed me to play a different side of the character that I wasn't really playing him, more happy go lucky, and I was just amused by her. And now she's a regular. She's wonderful, and so - ... Not yet [a couple]. Not that I know of. ... The internet would like us to be a couple."
06/20/13 - SA: "We just talked about how much Laurel doesn't know about Oliver but there's a history there. With Felicity, there's not necessarily a history but in terms of women in his life at present, she knows him better than anybody. Which is not saying a great deal but...I don't know, I'm very touched that the internet has such a fascination and the fanbase has such a fascination with Felicity and Oliver and I think it really speaks to Emily Bett Richards because when she first played the character in episode 3, I remember [Oliver] meeting her and coming around the corner - and we didn't really rehearse full speed - so when I came around the corner and she did her whole [Felicity thing] I cracked a smile which may have been the first time my character had smiled in the entire show. So I give all the credit to her. The writers will do what the writers will do."
06/23/13 - SA: “In terms of women in his life at present, [Felicity] knows him better than anybody... [But] that’s not saying much. ... I’m very touched that the Internet and the fan base has such a fascination with Felicity and Oliver, and I really think that it speaks to Emily Bett Rickards... When she first played [Felicity] in episode 3, I remember meeting her and then coming around a corner [in the scene] and when she did her whole [nervous schtick] I literally cracked a smile – which may have been the first time my character has cracked a smile. So, I give all the credit to her... The writers will do what the writers will do.”
09/23/13 - In response to question about whether Oliver & Felicity have a romantic or platonic thing, SA: "I see it as a dynamic thing, and if you really think about it, as cuddly as Diggle is, she’s the woman at the moment who knows me better than anybody. There is something very attractive about that."
10/16/13 - SA: "[Oliver and Felicity's] relationship is evolving. She is a full-fledged member of Team Arrow now and she's not afraid to give her opinion. She's smart and capable and Oliver's starting to see that more and more. I don't know where it's going to end up but that relationship is going to continue to strengthen throughout the season."
01/22/14 - When SA & EBR were in contention for a People's Choice Award for Favorite On-Screen Chemistry, SA: “You never know when you’re going to get on-screen with somebody and something is going to click... But it did, and we’re glad that it did.”
01/28/14 - In response to question about who he would pick for Oliver to end up with (Felicity, Laurel or Sara), SA: "I mean there’s just no good way for me to answer that question because ... I’m gonna piss off a huge percentage of the fan base even by neglecting to answer. Which is what I’m going to do. ... I would like Oliver to be happy. And I would like Oliver to be in a relationship where he can be himself because, as fun as it was for me to play the brooding, angry, vengeance-driven version of Oliver … a more contented version, a happier version, that gives you more places to go. So I’d just like him to find someone that he can be happy with. Or be happy by himself."
02/25/14 - On Oliver/Sara romance and Barry Allen affecting Oliver & Felicity's relationship, SA: "He could very much care about Sara, but what’s the thing that we know about Sara? She can take care of herself. Part of what Oliver said to Felicity in that episode [i.e., he can't be with someone he cares about] is that he doesn’t know if he’s willing to open himself up to having feelings for her, if in fact he does, because the danger is so imminent when you’re in close proximity to him…. Him working with her and her working with him is one thing, but a relationship is another. ... Then we introduced Barry [Allen] in Episode 8 and 9, we saw a lot of people saying, 'Oh, Oliver’s jealous.' I don’t know how it came across, but that certainly wasn’t the way that I was playing it. It was more curiosity about this guy and their interaction. But jealousy? Not so much. We have this Oliver/Sara thing happening now, and the immediate reaction is, 'Oh, Felicity’s going to be jealous.' But Felicity’s way stronger than that. Felicity is much more interested in the overall goal of this team than the fact that Oliver and Sara might be together, and we see that in this next episode. We see Diggle say, 'This must be difficult,' and her say, 'Yeah, OK. Leave me alone. I’m working.' So, I think that we will see Oliver and Felicity’s relationship really solidified as partners and equals."
01/15/15 - SA: “Laurel is a love from a different part of his life. It’s always gonna be there, but the person that he is now… in his mind, Felicity is the match... It’s just the match that he can’t have, from his perspective."
01/20/15 - SA: "I think that both Laurel and Sara, for Oliver, were loves that were principally from the past, from before the boat. And any other sort of brief relationship that he’s had has been flawed. Felicity has clearly, over the course of two-plus seasons, grown into that love for him. It’s just a matter of whether or not they can ever find a spot where they can make it work on an ongoing basis."
05/15/15 - In response to fan asking when Oliver realized that he was in love with Felicity, DR first interjected, "When Diggle told him." Then SA replied: "I think probably a little earlier than that actually. I mean, I say to her - I'm weird this way, remembering stuff - but I say to her in episode 206? I say because of, you know, the life I lead, what we do, I think it's better we not be together. I don't think he would have said that to her then if it wasn't a tacit admission of his feelings... if that makes sense." Later SA said: "We're so lucky in television to come with these great plans and Felicity Smoak was not part of the Arrow plan. And, um, you need a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work on the way to three full seasons and 69 episodes of television and counting. And Emily was certainly part of the luck aspect of that."
09/04/15 - In response to question about EBR's character not originally planned to be an integral part of the show and if he knew Felicity was eventually going to be Oliver's love interest, SA: "The answer is no and no. ... And, in the early going, after Emily's first appearance in the third episode, it was just people who saw the studio and the network cuts going, 'we enjoyed her performance', so we saw her again. And I knew that she was going to be an integral part of the show when all of a sudden they built her a set. Right? When you build someone a set, they're going to be around for a little bit. And then she signed on as a regular. But, you know, as late as - I don't know - probably the midway point of season 2, it was like, 'do you think that Oliver and Felicity will ever get together?' And I swear to God, the show runner said this, 'Absolutely not. Never.' Which is why you never say never... Never say never."
11/22/15 - SA: “I can picture Oliver and Felicity's kid coming out of the womb with glasses on and a six-pack... Russian Bratva tattoo already on its chest.... I think Oliver as a dad, I think he'd be a great dad. I'd love Oliver to be a dad.”
05/06/16 - In response to question about the future of Olicity, SA: "Well, we did walk down the path, and we have since broken up. ... Although I hope that if I get the chance to come back three years from now, I get to hear you say 'Olicity' again."
06/04/16 - In response to question about whether Oliver & Felicity will ever get married, SA: "I don't know. I don't know. I know that, uh - I know that, um, it was important, uh - I thought especially at the end of season 4, with everything that happened, and obviously with, um, with Laurel Lance's death, that their relationship be put on the back burner, because I think there were more pressing issues, obviously. So I don't know what they're - what's going to happen in season 5. I do know that, um,
This is a little bit spoilery (posted on Jun 13, 2016, by DC Entertainment)...
