by Natasha Wolff | December 17, 2019 3:30 pm
Elizabeth Olsen first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch in 2014, with a quick, uncredited cameo in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Since then, the actress has reprised her role in four subsequent films, including 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, which is now the highest-grossing film of all time[1]. Olsen’s character has a storied past that hasn’t been fully explored in the Avengers film series yet, but it will reportedly be revealed in the upcoming Disney+ television program WandaVision.
“This show is quite literally setting my character up to be what comic book fans know her as, the Scarlet Witch, and who we refer to her as, Wanda,” Olsen divulges about the new series. “I just got chills; I’m such a dork.”
One of Olsen’s first experiences with Disney was different from playing Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch—though, in a way, similarly life-changing and character-defining. “I went on a Disney cruise around Florida with my family, and I remember—we were pranksters as kids—dropping blueberries off a balcony, and we hit someone with glasses,” she says. “We got in a lot of trouble, and after that, I became a people pleaser.” (The newly engaged actress adds sarcastically that she was a real rebel back then.)
These days, her travel adventures are mostly for work, but she has always had a case of wanderlust. “My fiancé and I are great travel buddies. I get companion tickets through Delta[2], and I was traveling for work when we first started our relationship, so he came to Scotland to visit me,” she says of her fiancé, musician Robbie Arnett[3].
Olsen recently partnered[4] with Delta and American Express[5], which feels like the perfect pairing for the star given her curious nature when it comes to discovering new places. “I’ve always been a brave, independent person who wanted to see more,” she says of her love for travel. “I think that because I grew up with fame in my family, you become weary of going places because you have to protect someone. When you’re alone, there’s freedom.” Olsen adds that when she was younger, she seized any opportunity to travel independently and internationally, leading her to study abroad in Moscow, Russia.
Olsen speaks intently while casually guiding the conversation to stories about going to a Toy Story premiere as a kid, attending the same school in Russia as her Wind River costar Jon Bernthal, and even her thoughts on A$AP Rocky[6].
In July 2019, rapper A$AP Rocky was arrested in Sweden[7] for assault, and a video was posted on social media depicting two young men following the rapper down a street. “They were trolling him, and they wouldn’t leave him alone,” Olsen candidly says of the incident. “They were little punks, and they were not nice. A$AP should’ve walked straight into the hotel. Don’t fight; just go to the hotel.”
In addition to portraying Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Olsen is both the star and an executive producer of the Facebook Watch series Sorry for Your Loss[8], which recently released its second season. Although Olsen has starred in other projects such as Ingrid Goes West and Kodachrome, the actress admits that she’s most recognized internationally for being an Avenger.
“People love the Avengers movies,” she says of the franchise. “There’s the occasional person who is shocked to see you, so they follow you for a bit, and I really don’t like that. It’s stupid to complain, because I am lucky to have my job, but … I think if I had kids, I would feel more protective than angry.”
Olsen recalls that she used to tell her parents she didn’t have a maternal instinct when she was younger, but she’s since reversed course: “I would love to have kids,” she says.
Though children may be in Olsen’s future at some point, the next two years look pretty booked. With upcoming roles in WandaVision (2021) and the next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2021), this nurturing star will have plenty of travel opportunities coming her way to savor with her fiancé.
Source URL: https://dujour.com/culture/interview-actress-elizabeth-olsen-wandavision-avengers-delta-american-express/
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