Elizabeth Olsen’s new show may have passionate fans, but she deliberately avoids checking out forums and commentary online, she said Tuesday on a talk show.
The 31-year-old actress called into Late Night with Seth Meyers from her rental property in London, where she sat in a child’s room against a backdrop of map-covered wallpaper.
She discussed her starring role as Wanda Maximoff in the Disney+ series WandaVision, which skillfully melds the feeling of classic sitcoms with action and adventure.
Superhero role: Elizabeth Olsen’s new show may have passionate fans, but she deliberately avoids checking out forums and commentary online, she said Tuesday on a talk show
It was a new format for her, and Elizabeth said she worried reading up on what the fans said might affect her performance.
‘I’m anti-looking at everything on the Internet generally speaking,’ she admitted. ‘When it comes to something I’m passionate about, I don’t want anyone else’s ideas, I don’t want spoilers… I usually binge Game of Thrones after it’s on air, so I’m really good at avoiding stuff. I also never really cared about anything that much as a child to seek out forums or something.’
Asked if it had been hard to do press about a show with so much secrecy surrounding it, Elizabeth gave a resounding yes.
‘It’s really complicated to talk about this show,’ she said. ‘I want to talk about how it’s a sitcom, but not just a sitcom, and how do you tease that and keep people interested who want the action but then get people interested in the sitcom part, and hopefully you don’t lose them in the action… but it’s always fun. It’s always fun to see fan reactions. I think that’s what I look forward to most.’
Disney series: The 31-year-old actress discussed her starring role as Wanda Maximoff in the Disney+ series WandaVision, which skillfully melds the feeling of classic sitcoms with action
She’d been loving doing a period piece in every episode, as the show switched eras often and gave the crew a chance to try to replicate the lenses, lighting and mannerisms of another time.
She also agreed that there was a warmth inherent in the shooting of old sitcoms like the one her show parroted and it was hard sometimes to switch between joyful moments and serious ones.
‘I have Katherine Hahn by my side, who is just the queen of all things comedy,’ Elizabeth mused. ‘And Paul Bettany did such a great job with all the physical comedy and has been very Dick Van Dyke.’
Online stance: ‘I’m anti-looking at everything on the Internet generally speaking,’ Elizabeth admitted to Seth
Director Matt Shakman ‘oozes warmth and friendliness and kindness,’ she added. ‘He had like three different viruses directing all these episodes. I’m convinced he had COVID in December. He got so sick.’
WandaVision’s first episode had been filmed in front of a live studio audience, and Elizabeth said at first it had made her exceptionally nervous, worrying about whether she would fail.
‘I get into a rhythm, because I feel like I know how to do my job,’ she told Seth, 47. ‘But this I don’t know how to do THIS ever, and I have to do breathing exercises before seeing your friendly face.’
First episode: WandaVision’s first episode had been filmed in front of a live studio audience, and Elizabeth said at first it had made her exceptionally nervous, worrying about whether she would fail
Elizabeth missed doing talk shows live but was thrilled not to have to do junkets at present, which she called ‘four minute cycles of 12 hours of strangers.’
Seth apologized for calling her so late, as London was five hours ahead of his evening show, but the actress said she was ‘properly caffeinated.’
She said she’d been really excited to get to the UK, as it sounded like it would be more open than either New York or Los Angeles had been for most of 2020.
Instead, she arrived right before the city’s second lockdown, which would carry on until March.
High praise: ‘I have Katherine Hahn by my side, who is just the queen of all things comedy. And Paul Bettany did such a great job with all the physical comedy and has been very Dick Van Dyke,’ Elizabeth mused of her WandaVision co-stars
