Elizabeth Olsen’s Best Roles

Elizabeth Olsen carved out a distinct and powerful identity in Hollywood, emerging from the shadow of her famous older sisters to become a celebrated actor in her own right. She began her career with a focus on independent cinema, earning immediate critical acclaim for her raw and captivating performances in complex dramas. These early roles established her as a serious talent with a remarkable ability to portray deeply troubled and nuanced characters.

Her career reached a new level of global recognition when she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Wanda Maximoff. This role allowed her to showcase her incredible range over many years, evolving from a conflicted antagonist to a powerful hero and ultimately a tragic figure. Balancing blockbuster success with compelling roles in television and film, Olsen continues to be one of the most versatile and interesting actors working today.

‘Godzilla’ (2014)

In this monster film reboot, Elizabeth Olsen plays Elle Brody, a nurse living in San Francisco. She is the wife of Ford Brody, a U.S. Navy explosive ordnance disposal officer, and the mother of their young son. Her character represents the human element and the family that is caught in the middle of a catastrophic battle between giant creatures.

While her husband is on the front lines trying to deal with the monster threat, Elle must navigate the chaos and destruction in the city to protect their child. She is depicted as a capable and resilient person who is trying to maintain a sense of normalcy and safety for her family amidst an unimaginable disaster. Her storyline provides an emotional anchor to the large-scale action.

‘Kill Your Darlings’ (2013)

This biographical drama is set in the 1940s and centers on the college years of the earliest members of the Beat Generation. Olsen has a supporting role as Edie Parker, the first wife of writer Jack Kerouac. Edie is a wealthy and intelligent art student at Barnard College who becomes part of the rebellious group of friends.

Her character is a key figure in the social circle that includes Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Lucien Carr. The story revolves around a murder that pulls these aspiring writers into a dark and complex situation. Edie provides a glimpse into the lives of the women who were part of this foundational literary movement.

‘Ingrid Goes West’ (2017)

Olsen portrays Taylor Sloane, a popular social media influencer with a seemingly perfect, bohemian lifestyle in California. Her carefully curated online persona, filled with fashionable clothes, trendy food, and beautiful desert landscapes, attracts the obsessive attention of an unstable young woman named Ingrid.

Taylor is the object of Ingrid’s fixation, and she is initially unaware that her new friend’s entire life is a fabrication designed to mimic her own. Taylor’s character serves as a commentary on the superficiality and constructed nature of influencer culture. She represents the idealized image that can have unforeseen and dangerous consequences in the real world.

‘Kodachrome’ (2017)

In this road trip drama, Olsen plays Zooey Kern, the personal nurse and assistant to a famous and terminally ill photographer named Ben Ryder. The story follows Ben’s estranged son, Matt, as he agrees to drive his father from New York to Kansas to develop some final rolls of Kodachrome film before the last lab in the world closes.

Zooey accompanies the father and son on their journey, acting as a mediator and a calming presence during their frequent arguments. She develops a connection with Matt as they travel, and she helps him to better understand his difficult father. Her character provides an outside perspective on the fractured family’s attempt at reconciliation.

‘Liberal Arts’ (2012)

Olsen plays Zibby, a bright and precocious 19-year-old college student, in this romantic comedy-drama. She meets a 35-year-old New York City man named Jesse who has returned to his Ohio alma mater for a professor’s retirement party. Despite their age difference, the two form an immediate and powerful connection over their shared love of books, music, and classical arts.

Zibby represents youthful idealism and a passion for learning, which reawakens a sense of purpose in the more cynical and world-weary Jesse. Their relationship, which unfolds mostly through handwritten letters, forces both characters to confront their differing life stages and what they truly want from their futures.

‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’ (2011)

This critically acclaimed psychological thriller was Olsen’s feature film debut. She stars as Martha, a young woman who escapes from an abusive cult in the Catskill Mountains and tries to reacclimate to a normal life with her estranged older sister and her brother-in-law. The film’s title refers to the different names she uses in her fractured identity.

As she struggles to readjust, Martha is haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, and she is unable to distinguish between her past trauma and present reality. Her behavior becomes erratic and disturbing to her family, who are unaware of the full extent of what she experienced. The performance captures the subtle and unsettling nature of psychological damage.

‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ (2022)

In this film, Wanda Maximoff has fully embraced her identity as the Scarlet Witch. Consumed by grief from the loss of her children, she has been corrupted by the Darkhold, a powerful book of dark magic. She becomes the film’s primary antagonist, seeking to steal the multiverse-traveling powers of a young girl named America Chavez.

Her goal is to find a universe where her sons are real so she can be with them, and she is willing to cause immense destruction to achieve it. As the Scarlet Witch, she is portrayed as an incredibly powerful and nearly unstoppable magical force, hunting Doctor Strange and America across various alternate realities. Her actions are driven by a tragic and desperate love for her family.

‘Sorry for Your Loss’ (2018–2019)

In this drama series, Elizabeth Olsen stars as Leigh Shaw, a young widow who is struggling to cope with the sudden death of her husband. The show explores the complexities of grief as Leigh is forced to re-evaluate her life and relationships while uncovering secrets about the man she loved.

The narrative frequently jumps between the present and the past, showing moments from Leigh’s life with her husband before his death. This structure allows the audience to piece together their relationship and the hidden aspects of his life that Leigh is only now discovering. Her performance delves into the messy, non-linear, and often isolating experience of mourning.

‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ (2015)

This film marks the introduction of Wanda Maximoff into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She and her twin brother, Pietro, are initially antagonists who volunteer for HYDRA experiments, which grant them extraordinary powers. Holding a grudge against Tony Stark for their parents’ deaths, they join forces with the sentient robot Ultron to destroy the Avengers.

Wanda possesses telekinetic and telepathic abilities, which she uses to manipulate the minds of the heroes, forcing them to confront their worst fears. However, when she discovers Ultron’s true plan to cause a global extinction event, she and her brother switch allegiances and join the Avengers in the final battle to save humanity.

‘Love & Death’ (2023)

Olsen stars as Candy Montgomery in this true crime miniseries. The story is set in a small Texas town in 1980 and follows the real-life events surrounding a suburban housewife who is accused of murdering the wife of her lover. Candy is portrayed as a bright and devout churchgoer who feels unfulfilled by her conventional life.

Seeking excitement, she begins an extramarital affair with a fellow church member named Allan Gore. When the affair is discovered, it leads to a shocking and violent confrontation between Candy and Allan’s wife, Betty. The series explores the community’s reaction and the subsequent trial, where Candy’s defense presents a stunning version of events.

‘Wind River’ (2017)

In this neo-western thriller, Olsen plays Jane Banner, a rookie FBI agent sent to the remote and desolate Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. She is tasked with investigating the death of a young Native American woman whose body was found in the snow miles from any shelter. As an outsider, she is unprepared for the harsh realities of the environment and the community.

Banner enlists the help of a local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracker to navigate the unforgiving terrain and the complex social dynamics of the reservation. She is a determined but inexperienced agent who must quickly learn to trust her partner’s expertise to uncover the truth behind the crime. Her character represents the federal government’s often inadequate response to crimes in these communities.

‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016)

In this film, Wanda Maximoff is an official member of the Avengers, training to hone her powerful abilities. During a mission in Lagos, she attempts to contain an explosion but inadvertently causes civilian casualties, an event which becomes the catalyst for the Sokovia Accords, a United Nations initiative to regulate the team.

Wracked with guilt, Wanda is placed under unofficial house arrest at the Avengers compound. When the team fractures over the Accords, she sides with Captain America, believing that government oversight will hinder their ability to do good. Her immense power makes her a key player in the conflict between the two factions of heroes.

‘WandaVision’ (2021)

This television series centers on Wanda Maximoff in the aftermath of the devastating events of the previous Avengers films. Overcome with grief, she unknowingly unleashes her immense power to create an idyllic, alternate reality in the small town of Westview, New Jersey. This reality is modeled after classic American sitcoms from various decades.

Within this magically constructed world, Wanda lives a perfect suburban life with a recreated version of Vision and their two magically generated sons. The series slowly unravels the mystery of what is happening in Westview, forcing Wanda to confront her trauma and the consequences of her actions. It explores the depths of her grief and her transformation into the powerful Scarlet Witch.

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)

At the start of this film, Wanda Maximoff and Vision are living in hiding in Europe, attempting to build a life together. Their peaceful existence is shattered when they are attacked by agents of Thanos who are seeking to retrieve the Mind Stone embedded in Vision’s forehead.

Wanda’s primary focus throughout the movie is protecting Vision, as removing the stone would mean his certain death. Her immense power is shown to be one of the few forces capable of holding back Thanos, even for a short time. In the tragic climax, she is forced to make an impossible choice, destroying the Mind Stone and Vision herself, only to watch Thanos reverse her sacrifice and succeed.

‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)

Wanda Maximoff is one of the many heroes who was erased from existence by Thanos’s snap at the end of the previous film. She is absent for the majority of the movie’s runtime, which deals with the surviving heroes’ attempts to undo the cataclysmic event.

She is resurrected just in time for the final, epic battle against Thanos and his army. Fueled by rage over the loss of Vision, Wanda confronts the Mad Titan directly in one of the most memorable moments of the fight. She demonstrates the full extent of her power, single-handedly overwhelming Thanos and nearly defeating him before he is forced to order an aerial bombardment to save himself.

We would love to hear which Elizabeth Olsen role is your personal favorite in the comments.