‘The Avengers’: Scarlett Johansson Felt ‘Put to Shame’ by Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch Performance
For a while, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow was the only female addition to the male-dominated Avengers team. This has changed in recent years with the recruitment of other female characters, including Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch.
But upon working together, Johansson revealed there was one aspect of Olsen’s character and acting that put the Black Widow star to shame.
Elizabeth Olsen was amazed by Scarlett Johansson when they first worked together
Olsen first made her appearance briefly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Winter Soldier. Although she found herself officially working with the cast and crew for Avengers: Age of Ultron. By the time she made her debut, Johansson’s Black Widow was already a fixture in the MCU. Seeing how an experienced Johansson handled her job behind the scenes left an unforgettable impression on the WandaVision star.
“I remember being on Ultron and seeing how she was with the crew and I was just amazed by her ease and her comfort and how she includes the crew in everything and how she makes everyone excited to come to work and I’ve really taken that into my life since then,” she told Variety.
Elizabeth Olsen put Scarlett Johannson to shame in the MCU
Likewise, Johansson had nothing but kind words for her Infinity War co-star. Speaking to Sirius XM, the actor shared how much of a relief it was having another woman on The Avengers.
“It was so great when Lizzie came on because, y’know, we had [Colby Smulders.] It was basically the two of us kind of holding down the fort. And then when Lizzie came on it semi-balanced out,” Johansson said. “It was very heavy on the testosterone for a very long time, and now it has like…it calibrated.”
Johansson complimented Olsen on the humor, warmth, and professionalism the actor brought with her to the MCU. But Olsen also impressed Johansson with her work ethic. The Marriage Story actor thought Olsen’s performance as Wanda might have surpassed hers as Black Widow in certain areas.
“What she was doing was so hard. Even the physicality of what she was doing was so hard that I would work with her, and I was amazed at what she was creating out of nothing. That she created this whole…again, this physicality. And her character has such a sensuality to her, and she has such a passion,” she said. “I was amazed by it. It put me to shame.”
Elizabeth Olsen once revealed she felt like the only female in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’
Olsen felt at the time that Ultron director Joss Whedon was able to do her character justice in the film. Mostly this was because of Whedon’s reputation for either creating or adapting strong female characters in fiction.
“Well, you feel like you’re in good hands and the cool thing is that he hasn’t been able to create these characters,” she told Collider in a 2015 interview. “He’s been given them from other directors or writers from their other franchises and he’s been adapting, taking what has already been created and serving them in Avengers. And in this, he’s able to create Wanda and he’s such a huge fan of her and it’s really awesome to get to have that.”
However, despite Johansson being a part of Age of Ultron, Olsen revealed she felt like the only woman there.
“I think he’s [Joss Whedon] enjoying also having the experience where he gets to create it, because he’s such a fan of creating these strong, amazing women. There’s obviously Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) but it’s nice to have another strong presence. Usually, I haven’t been around when Scarlet was working, so I kind of feel like the only female most of the time and it’s nice to have a stronger presence, instead of a weak one, or like an office one or something,” she added.
