Elizabeth Olsen established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry after landing the role of Wanda Maximoff (a.k.a. Scarlet Witch) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Popping up in movies like 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, she also landed a show alongside Paul Bettany (who you might know as Vision) when their WandaVision series premiered in January 2021. However, while seeing Olsen onscreen may give you a glimpse at her talent, it doesn’t mean that you truly know who she is.
“Marvel films don’t often go hand in hand with low-key actresses,” according to Harper’s Bazaar UK, but as the outlet also noted, “Elizabeth Olsen is an anomaly to the formula.” Indeed, the actor backed that up while explaining, “If I could do whatever I wanted for the day, I’d start with going to the gym or doing some sort of workout, then I’d go to the grocery store because my favorite thing to do is grocery shop.” Um, ok. Perhaps she gets a little wild when the night rolls around? Nope. “The night before I would have prepped bread, like dough, then the next day I’d bake bread and create a delicious meal, sit outside in the sun, eat delicious food all day with people I love.”
That may not be the kind of life you’d expect from an up-and-coming Hollywood star, but it turns out there are plenty of things about Elizabeth Olsen that might surprise you.
Elizabeth Olsen may be a star nowadays, but she almost left the entertainment business behind when she was still young. Frankly, she almost quit her acting career at an age when many others haven’t even gotten theirs started.
Back in 2001, Spy Kids was released and featured young actors Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara in leading roles, per IMDb. While anyone who’s seen the movie would likely agree that both child stars nailed their performances, it turns out that Olsen could have been one of those stars. However, she didn’t quite put in the effort that was needed to potentially land the gig. During an audition for the film, Elizabeth “[lied] to the director,” saying “that she had read the script,” according to Nylon. She recalled, “I hadn’t — it looked like the biggest thing I’d seen in my life.” Not only did she not get a job offer, but she was also “chastised by her ballet teacher for her casual work ethic,” per the outlet. As a result, Elizabeth made a decision and had a conversation with her father. “‘Dad, I want to stop acting,'” she recalled. “I had only been on four auditions!”
While Elizabeth’s dad was willing to accept his daughter’s early retirement, he also wanted her to think it through. “He was like, ‘OK, write a list weighing the pros and cons and make your own decision.'” That was definitely a way to respect what she wanted, even though, as she explained, “I was 10!”