Elizabeth Olsen Once Shared How Oppenheimer Inspired Her to Do ‘Godzilla’
Elizabeth Olsen‘s Godzilla was the actor’s first high-budget feature before being recruited by Marvel. But she wasn’t entirely convinced to do the creature feature until she was persuaded by a surprising source.
Elizabeth Olsen wasn’t sure about doing ‘Godzilla’
Olsen wasn’t too receptive about the idea of doing Godzilla. Before doing the film, Olsen crafted a career for herself with mostly indie films. But soon the Love and Death actor aimed her sights on big blockbuster franchises.
“I just started going to studios and having meetings with them, just to have them keep me in the back of their minds,” Olsen once told Refinery. “Six months later, after meeting with Legendary [film studio], they called about Godzilla… Gareth [Edwards] and I both come from an independent world, and he’s a big fan of Martha Marcy May Marlene, so I kind of got lucky with that combo… It was a goal. I really want to be part of a group of actresses that get to have these opportunities.”
But initially, she had her doubts about doing the film. The words of inventor Robert J. Oppenheimer, however, helped Olsen make up her mind.
“I was like – oh God, I’m going to this meeting about Godzilla, how stupid is that? And then, I see this teaser and it’s an Oppenheimer quote about him creating the most powerful weapon in the world. Meanwhile, you’re looking at this devastated city and then, Godzilla roars and you’re like – what is this? And you’re like – this is amazing! And that’s why I wanted to do the movie. I was like – if that’s the movie you’re making, I want to be a part of it,” Olsen once told The Interrobang.
Elizabeth Olsen once explained the difference between doing ‘Godzilla’ and Marvel movies
Olsen would get her wish to star in huge franchise films. Apart from Godzilla, she helped spearhead a new phase in Marvel after being cast as the Scarlet Witch. Godzilla was Olsen’s first time tinkering with CGI, which has been very prevalent in the MCU. Still, Godzilla did little to help prepare Olsen for how she’d have to act in a Marvel movie.
“It’s such a different world. It’s so crazy, you know, because you’re like—the main difference is in Godzilla you’re reacting to something that’s not there, and in something like The Avengers, is you’re approaching and almost interacting with something that’s not there. And so that’s what the main difference is for me right now,” Olsen once said according to Black Film.
The actor also confided that, even though it was challenging working with special effects, it was equally as liberating.
“So I think those were the two things I learned on the job. And the reason why I thought, you know, doing a movie like this, or any of these kinds of big special effects kinds of movies is the childlike imagination you’ve got to have. I root it in such reality, but, you know, from a child’s point of view, almost,” she said.
‘Godzilla’ helped Elizabeth Olsen’s relationship with ‘Age of Ultron’ co-star Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Taylor-Johnson also worked alongside Olsen on both Godzilla and Age of Ultron. He’d portray Olsen’s wife in the former, whereas in Ultron he was cast as Olsen’s sister. Despite how vastly different their relationships were in both films, Godzilla helped inform their Age of Ultron bond.
“You know, we only did a few scenes together for this film [Godzila], but we spent time together in Vancouver, and I got to know his family, and we spent time together. And to play really tight twin brother and sister, it’s really lucky that it’s not with some guy I jut met or something. I think we both like the fact that we have this other film in our repertoire,” she said.
