JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Every week, a guest draws a card from NPR's Wild Card deck and answers a big question about their life. Elizabeth Olsen is most famous for her role as Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her newest film is the indie sci-fi thriller "The Assessment."
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ELIZABETH OLSEN: It's in sort of near-future sci-fi, where the only avenue to have a child is out of utero, so you have to be approved by the government to be allowed to have that opportunity to have a child.
SUMMERS: The film continues a trend for Olson of avoiding blockbusters in favor of starring in smaller, quieter movies. She talked to Wild Card host Rachel Martin about her shift away from the world of superhero movies.
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RACHEL MARTIN, BYLINE: What is something you still feel you need to prove to the people you meet?
OLSEN: I think my taste in a creative way - I think I haven't always successfully made choices in my work that are aligned with my personal taste.
MARTIN: Ah.
OLSEN: And that is something I feel like I'm still trying to prove.
MARTIN: 'Cause you didn't really want to be a superhero, or am I...
OLSEN: (Laughter).
MARTIN: ...Making a conclusion?
OLSEN: I mean, I did, actually. I really wanted - when I started Marvel, I thought they were such great Greek-type-scale stories that reflected politics, culture in a really lovely way. And so I felt really proud to jump into it. And then within the last 10 years, it's taken on this narrative of, like, it's, like, a hot take whether an actor says they want to - they would never do a Marvel movie or not or...
MARTIN: Yeah. But what is it about your taste that you feel insecure about, or that...
OLSEN: I think that is why because I had - I've spent so many years doing Marvel that I feel like, as much as I love being a part of this world and I'm proud of what I've been able to do with the character, it's not really the art that I consume, which I've been...
MARTIN: Yeah.
OLSEN: ...Very, I think (laughter), honest about. And so I feel like I have to really focus on what to couple all of those films and shows that I do with Marvel with to showcase my taste.
MARTIN: Yeah.
OLSEN: Yeah.
MARTIN: Yeah. Because, again, in the short time I've known you, you are - you're an intellectual person. You're - even just now, your reading of the Marvel cinematic universe as the Greek tragedy and all...
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MARTIN: You're bringing an intellectual bent to it that I don't know if 90% of the population would bring.
OLSEN: (Laughter).
MARTIN: But I can tell that it is important to you to be respected by your peers and for you to be understood for the full 360-degree dimension that you are...
OLSEN: Yes.
MARTIN: ...Not just this one part of you.
OLSEN: Yes. I do want this kind of understanding of...
MARTIN: Yeah.
OLSEN: ...Of the bigger picture of me as a creative person in the world and what my goals are.
SUMMERS: You can see Elizabeth Olsen in the new movie "The Assessment." And you can watch the full conversation by following Wild Card With Rachel Martin on YouTube or Spotify.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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