Elizabeth Olsen is opening up about her time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and how it has shaped, and at times conflicted with, her artistic identity.
In a candid interview on NPR’s Wild Card With Rachel Martin, Olsen shared her thoughts about the career choices she’s made and the challenge of aligning her work with her personal creative preferences.
The WandaVision star, best known for portraying Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch, admitted, “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.”
Elizabeth Olsen, who began acting as a child and has since established herself as a critically respected performer, explained that professional meetings still often feel like opportunities to express who she really is as an artist. “Especially if it’s a work-type meeting, I want to be able to articulate my personal taste in films and literature. I still think I have that to prove,” she added.
Despite spending nearly a decade immersed in the Marvel universe, Olsen admitted that the genre doesn’t always reflect the kind of art she personally consumes. “As much as I love being a part of this world, I’ve spent so many years doing Marvel that I now feel every other role I take needs to really reflect my personal taste,” she said. “I’m proud of what I’ve done with the character — but it’s not really the kind of art I gravitate toward.”
Still, Elizabeth Olsen was quick to clarify that she didn’t regret joining the MCU. In fact, she was initially drawn to the franchise for its epic storytelling. “I thought they were such great Greek-type scale stories that reflected politics and culture in a really lovely way,” she explained.
In reflecting on how public perception has shifted, Olsen remarked, “Within the last 10 years, it’s become a hot take—whether an actor says they’d do a Marvel movie or not.”
As she moves forward, Elizabeth Olsen seems focused on redefining her career with roles that resonate more personally and artistically.