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Elizabeth Olsen: How Fear Led Her to Embrace Wanda Maximoff in WandaVision
Elizabeth Olsen has faced witches, cults, and psychological terror on screen — yet stepping fully into the role of Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, terrified her more than any horror film. In a recent interview, the Emmy-nominated actress revealed that she actually turned down WandaVision twice before finally agreeing to headline the series that would redefine her career.
“It terrified me,” Olsen confessed. “Not because of the action or the powers — but because I didn’t know if I could carry that kind of emotional and creative responsibility.”
“I Didn’t Want to Fail Her”
Olsen first appeared as Wanda in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and quickly became a fan favorite. But when Marvel approached her years later to lead WandaVision, the studio’s first Disney+ series, she hesitated.
“I said no the first time,” she recalled. “Then they came back again, and I still said no. I was terrified of being the face of something that could completely fall apart. Television was uncharted territory for Marvel — and for me.”
Olsen worried that a series focused entirely on Wanda’s grief might not resonate with audiences. “I didn’t want to fail her — or the fans,” she said. “Wanda had already lost so much, and I didn’t want to make her pain feel like a gimmick.”
The Fear Behind the Mask
Despite her previous work in psychologically intense films like Silent House and Martha Marcy May Marlene, Olsen said that WandaVision demanded a different kind of courage: emotional transparency.
“In horror, you can hide behind the adrenaline,” she explained. “But in WandaVision, I had to sit in grief — episode after episode — and let it consume me. That’s what was so terrifying.”
Showrunner Jac Schaeffer and director Matt Shakman encouraged Olsen to focus on Wanda’s humanity rather than her superhero persona. “Matt told me, ‘Don’t play the superhero — play the human who’s trying to survive loss,’” she said. “That changed everything.”
When Marvel Changed Its Rules
Olsen initially hesitated because she wasn’t sure where Marvel was headed. “They told me, ‘We’re making something unlike anything we’ve done before,’” she recalled. “I thought, well, that could either be genius or a disaster.”
After reading the full story arc — a love story wrapped in sitcom-style episodes, unfolding into a meditation on grief — Olsen finally said yes.
“I realized it wasn’t about powers,” she said. “It was about losing everything you love and still choosing to love again. That’s not superhero stuff — that’s human.”
The Scene That Changed Everything
For Olsen, the defining moment came in Episode 8, the now-iconic flashback where Vision comforts Wanda with the line: “What is grief, if not love persevering?”
“I remember reading that line and crying,” she said. “That’s when I knew — this wasn’t a Marvel show. It was a story about healing.” Filming the scene, she added, felt more like letting go than acting.
From Fear to Freedom
Olsen describes playing Wanda as both her most terrifying and liberating experience. “I learned that fear isn’t a reason to say no,” she said. “Sometimes it’s a sign you’re about to do something important.”
Her portrayal earned critical acclaim, an Emmy nomination, and cemented Wanda as one of Marvel’s most complex and beloved characters, culminating in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where she embraced the Scarlet Witch’s darker side.
“When Sam Raimi told me, ‘Wanda is the villain of her own grief,’ it broke my heart,” Olsen said. “But it also felt true. That’s what makes her real.”
The Power of Saying Yes
Looking back, Olsen admits that turning down WandaVision might have been her biggest mistake — and saying yes, her greatest leap of faith.
“I almost walked away from the role that changed my life,” she said. “But now, I can’t imagine my career — or myself — without Wanda. She taught me courage.”
In true Scarlet Witch fashion, Olsen turned fear into fuel — and the result was nothing short of transformative.
“I used to think I was afraid of failing,” she concluded. “Now I realize I was just afraid of being seen. WandaVision made me face that — and I’ll never hide again.”
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