Elizabeth Olsen started out playing as an understudy in the Broadway play Impressionism. She never appeared on the stage, but this didn’t make Olsen lose her confidence in acting. She got her first Avengers role in Avengers: Age of Ultron as Wanda Maximoff. That short passage of the film allowed her to emerge into a sitcom and several more movies later on.
Olsen felt a lot of anxiety with the Doctor Strange movie because she said, “I’ve never really had to lead a commercial film by myself.” The schedule required her to work in Doctor Strange and WandaVision back to back. She added, “It took me away from the physical ability to do certain jobs that I thought were more aligned with the things I enjoyed as an audience member.”
Olsen found her spotlight when she acted in Martha Marcy May Marlene. From the movies that she worked in, she didn’t want to be typecasted as the girl who cries a lot and she felt the pressure from getting into big-budgeted films. Entering into the character of Wanda benefited her from not playing the continuously crying character.
The long commitment with Marvel made her turn down the dark comedy opportunity The Lobster which equally could have changed her acting career. She said, “I started to feel frustrated. I had this job security but I was losing these pieces that I felt were more part of my being. And the further I got away from that, the less I became considered for it.” Her image allowed her to get into films like Wind River and Ingrid Goes West, but she also wonders if Wanda Maximoff had placed her unexpectedly in a typecast already.
Wanda was eventually killed in Avengers: Infinity War where the three-year contract was supposed to end. Later, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige pitched Olsen WandaVision and was convinced to be a part of it. She said, “We thought what we were doing was so weird and didn’t know if we had an audience for it, so there was a freedom to it. There was no pressure, no fear. It was a really healthy experience.”
WandaVision allowed Olsen to fall in love with Wanda’s character. Maybe Olsen is looking for artistic satisfaction after this. Or she is simply looking for a good story to share. Nonetheless, her journey as Wanda is very magical to the point that influenced others in pop culture and their signature songs. The rest awaits for Olsen’s next film.
