Elizabeth Olsen recently appeared on NPR’s “Wild Card with Rachel Martin” podcast and said that she’s still trying to prove to people that her personal tastes don’t always align with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“I think I haven’t always successfully made choices in my work that are aligned with my personal taste and that is something I feel like I’m still trying to prove when I meet people,” Olsen said, referring to how her Marvel role as Scarlet Witch as shaped the industry’s perception of her. “Especially if it’s a work type meeting and be able to express my personal taste in films and literature, and so I still think I have that to prove.”
Olsen continued, “Because I have spent so many years doing Marvel that I feel like all the other jobs I have to do have to really reflect my personal taste because as much as I love being a part of this world — and I’m proud of what I’ve been able to do with the character — it’s not really the art that I consume. Which I have been very honest about.”
Olsen debuted as Scarlet Witch in the post-credits scene of 2014’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” before her proper supporting role in 2015’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” She has since gone on to star in blockbusters like “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and headlined the Disney+ series “WandaVision,” for which she earned an Emmy nomination.
“I thought they were such great Greek-type scale stories that reflected politics, culture in a really lovely way,” Olsen said on the podcast about getting into Marvel in the first place. “And so I felt really proud to jump into it. And then, within the last 10 years, it’s taken on this narrative of like, it’s like a hot take, whether an actor says they want to, they would never do a Marvel movie or not.”
In an interview at Vulture Festival last year, Olsen credited Marvel with being such “a consistent thing” in her life that it’s given “some feeling of insurance in my life that has given me freedom to choose other jobs.” Olsen added that she’s always returned to Marvel because she’s truly wanted to. It “has always felt like a choice,” she said. “Every time, it’s character-driven. It’s always like, ‘We have this idea, and that’s why we want you to come back.’ It’s not like, ‘Just throw her in something.’”
Watch Olsen’s full interview on the “Wild Card with Rachel Martin” podcast in the video below.
