Elizabeth Olsen Interview - 'Oldboy' Premieres with Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen

Hellin Kay

Photo: Getty Images

Elizabeth Olsen's character in Oldboy is part of a big twist—one on par with The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects. Besides starring in the Spike Lee film, she's also wrapping up a stint Off Broadway in Romeo and Juliet, and gearing up for Joss Whedon's newest Avengers flick, where she plays the dangerously sexy Wanda, otherwise known as the Scarlet Witch. In between all those projects, Olsen chatted with ELLE while noshing on hummus—and warning against the dangers of octopus.

Hi!

[Eating hummus] Hi! I'm starving! But I'll stop. It's rude.

Seriously, keep eating! You're on a tight schedule, and when are you going to have a chance to eat later? And you're eating healthy. If you were shoving cake in your mouth...

You'd be concerned? [Mimes stuffing a big piece of cake in her mouth and pretends to talk with her mouth full] Mmmawwaahaammmm.... [Laughs]

And it was never going to be in the movie, although we look at an octopus, and people who know this movie might think maybe we'll indulge, but we're not going to. We just move on, and let it be.

Would you ever do that, though, for a role?

No. I would never. I think they had a bar competition in Korea after that film came out, and some people died of asphyxiation because of that. The tentacles attach to the wall of the neck. So I would not do that. I don't think it's a fun thing people should try out!

Is it tough playing a character who's already existed in another film, and played by another actress?

She was just a female tool in [the original version]. She's hypnotized to fall in love with someone. For an American audience, I don't know how much that would fly. They would be like, "That's it? That was the excuse?" It might be too easy. So to create enough of a psychological background and baggage to lead her up to a point where she'd want to help people, but not herself so much, and then finding a person who reminds her that she doesn't have to be wounded? It's like playing Freudian games. So yeah, I hope that story's told.

How much did you get to contribute to your character's look? She has a lot of tattoos.

Yeah, that was all as a group. It was so fun!... I chose a tattoo that's an octopus, as a nod to the original film. It's as simple as that, and it could look cool. And I think tattoos, it's almost mindless at times, or it's really thoughtful. But if you [as a character] have a past that's erratic, and then you have tattoos, and then you also have some sort of history of self-abuse, I think all those things help tell the story in a way. And also the same way with how you dress, not really caring, or no makeup.

You also chose some of your costumes, right? You wear a shirt with lots of holes in it...

I love that shirt! I chose it to be one of those pieces that she had that was from her past, that was a piece of her rough, punk thing, [but] this shirt was just so comfortable. She might have gotten rid of a lot of stuff, but she didn't get rid of that.

[Laughs] That was just one of those things, where Shazam had come out so recently, and we were like, "We have to use Shazam! If people want to know what a song is, they use Shazam!" Because we were trying to use all new technology and stuff, and Josh Brolin's character doesn't understand the whole swiping thing, so we fooled around with those moments. It was fun. It's how I am with my mother. [Picks up iPhone] She would not know how to turn this thing on if she tried! My mom never understood the concept of a mouse pad. She never understood that you could move your finger and a cursor would show up. That was a crazy concept for her. But one-year-olds nowadays go like this [swipes] when they see phones. They have their game iPhone. Then it can get messy. [Laughs]

I didn't even know what a manga was! [Laughs] I hadn't even seen a manga until [preparing for] this movie! [My brother Trent] is into comic books, but he doesn't follow mangas.

Can he help you out on other comic book stuff, then? Your next big role is as Scarlet Witch in 'Avengers 2.'

He has! Actually, I gave him homework before the studio gave me a bunch of stuff to read. I told my brother, "Tell me which ones I need to be looking for, which ones you think are the most exciting stories," and he just literally gave me a list per title, like, "Number 16 of this series," all that stuff. He's very helpful, that one! [Giggles] It's amazing. And then my brother made some sort of joke, and he was like, "I hope you got that [part]. If not, we have some serious work to do," on a text message. I was like, "I got it, I got it, don't worry!" I've become such a nerd about it, reading those comics. I'm super excited. That's going to be so fun. I love Joss Whedon.

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