Elizabeth Olsen
Gary Gershoff / Getty ImagesAlthough Elizabeth Olsen technically got her professional acting start as a child when she appeared alongside her sisters, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, in their video series The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley and a 1994 television movie. But instead of driving further down the child star road, as they did, she focused on studying off-screen before jumping into performing as a full-fledged career.
Her first feature film didn't come until 2011, but when it came, it was a starring role (and the title one at that): writer-director Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene. From there, she had a steady stream of theatrical, dramatic work, with about four films a year until 2014 when she first stepped into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch.
The sheer size and scope of the MCU franchise kept Olsen extremely busy between 2014 and 2021, appearing in five feature films and a limited streaming series alone. Still, she made time for other, smaller projects, from guest-starring on an episode of Drunk History, to working on independent features including Ingrid Goes West, and even helping Facebook Watch launch original scripted content with Sorry For Your Loss, which she not only starred in, but also executive produced.
Olsen is still an important part of the MCU (and the MCU is still an important part of her upcoming credits list), with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opening in May 2022. But the Emmy and BAFTA nominee is also continuing to stretch herself into other meaty and emotionally complex roles, including playing real-life convicted murderer Candy Montgomery in HBO Max's upcoming limited series Love and Death.
Here, Metacritic highlights the top 10 movies and TV shows Olsen has acted in, ranked by Metascore.
Metascore: 83
Best for: Those who want a good cry, with a few surprise laughs along the way
Where to watch: Facebook
Seasons: 2
Olsen pulls double duty as the star of and an executive producer on this sadly short-lived drama from the now defunct streamer Facebook Watch. Her character, Leigh, is a young woman grieving the unexpected death of her husband (played by Mamoudou Athie). The first season puts you in her shaky emotional state as questions of whether his death was accidental swirl, she keeps replaying past moments with him, and she tries to continue on with her life, despite her heart being shattered. The second season sees her further on in her healing process, including making a deeper connection to her brother-in-law (played by Jovan Adepo).
"The kind of series that's instantly so fully formed, so funny and candid and wrenching ... that you almost question the emotional propriety of it all." — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic
Metascore: 78
Best for: Fans of Marvel Comics characters, time-travel movies, and epic battles of good and evil
Where to watch:
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, this 2019 film is seen as a conclusion to a more than 20-movie-long arc based on characters from Marvel Comics. This time around, there is a lot of time travel as the Avengers tries to save the world from Thanos (Josh Brolin), who, at the end of the previous movie (Avengers: Infinity War), killed half of life not just on Earth but in the whole universe. The film is full of sacrifice — which, yes, means more death — and confrontations of key figures within the MCU, but it is also a chance to restore hope to the characters and the movie-going audience. Olsen reprises her MCU role of Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, which she has played on screens of many sizes in the MCU theatrical releases and her own Disney+ streaming series, WandaVision (which made the list below).
"Think of it as a kind of victory lap, in which a decade-plus of painstaking team assembly is run at top speed, then paid off with thermonuclear dazzle and force." — Robbin Collin, The Telegraph
Metascore: 77
Best for: Fans of mixing sitcom styles with sci-fi elements, emotionally complex protagonists, and tragic love stories
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When Wanda Maximoff gets her own nine-episode streaming series in Marvel Studios' first outing for Disney+, Olsen gets to dive deeper into portraying grief. Unable to really contend with the loss of her partner Vision (Paul Bettany), Wanda creates a suburban life for her and her robotic love, based on the comfort television she watched as a child. Individual episodes switch time periods, styles, and even theme songs to match the sitcoms of various eras, starting with 1950s black-and-white and moving through the decades, up to and including the Modern Family mockumentary style of the early-aughts. But as episodes go on, Wanda increasingly has to face her true reality, and as she does, more traditional MCU moments come in. Olsen was nominated for an Emmy for her performance in this 2021 series, which earned three artisans trophies from the Television Academy.
"It proves that Marvel isn't afraid to try new things and evolve." — Megan Vick, TV Guide
Metascore: 75
Best for: Fans of Chris Evans, explosions, and superhero team conflict
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This 2016 MCU film from the Russo brothers puts the titular Captain America (Evans) at odds with Iron Man because of their differing beliefs about new regulations around superheroes. The rift between the members of the Avengers is bad enough, but a brainwashed Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) makes things much more violent, causing more conflict between team member as to how things should be handled. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) are caught in the middle of their alliance to both Captain America and Iron Man, but the film also features many more MCU heroes, including Sam Wilson, aka Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), and Olsen's Scarlet Witch.
"Kudos to the Russo brothers...for directing the hostilities for maximum impact and without neglecting character." — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Metascore: 75
Best for: Fans of psychological dramas and stories about cults
Where to watch:
Olsen stars as the four title characters, who are really all one woman, a 20-something who has been living with a cult (and therefore has her birth name, the name the cult gave her, and a code name) in this 2011 film. Her sister (played by Sarah Paulson) takes out away from the cult, but when living together with her sister's husband (played by Hugh Dancy) afterwards, Martha begins having flashbacks to extremely traumatic events from her time within the cult, which affects her behavior. Because of this, Martha's sense of reality is questioned, making the threats to her not just physical ones.
"Moves from its protagonist's dream state to her memories to her waking present in imperceptible shifts — the effect is disorienting, at first, but ingenious." — Steven Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Metascore: 73
Best for: Fans of murder investigations where those investigating have something to overcome too
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Before Taylor Sheridan was making waves on television with Yellowstone, he wrote and directed this 2017 film about a murder investigation set on the eponymous Indian Reservation. Olsen and Renner star as the outsider agents brought in to work the case: She is a rookie FBI agent who recruits him, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent who happened to be the one to find the murder victim and also happens to be grieving the loss of his daughter. The film is a crime drama that does its due diligence in tracking downs suspects, while also offering insight into the victim's life through flashbacks, resulting in tragedy beyond the initial death as the walls close in on who did it.
"A stark and beautiful and haunting 21st century Western thrilled, filled with memorable visuals and poetic dialogue." — Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
Metascore: 71
Best for: Fans of twisted friendships and commentary on the level of importance society has placed on social media
Where to watch:
The eponymous character (played by Aubrey Plaza) in this 2017 dark comedy has an obsession with influencers that borders on mental illness but never actually gets diagnosed. (Although the film does see her in a recovery facility in the beginning after she attacked one influencer at that woman's wedding.) The majority of the story tracks Ingrid's obsession with influencer Taylor (Olsen), though, including Ingrid moving to be closer to her, getting a makeover, pretending to "bump into" Taylor, and kidnapping her dog. The latter allows the two to actually meet when she "finds" and returns the dog. While they do become friends, Ingrid is constantly harboring the secret of just how far she has gone to get to know Taylor, which leads to more violent actions.
"A superb satirical swipe at the worst excesses of the social media generation." — James Mottram, Total Film
Metascore: 70
Best for: Fans of Captain America and superhero team-ups
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The Russos' 2014 MCU film centers on Captain America who is now living in modern society after being awoken after being in suspended animation for decades. He works for S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel's spy agency, and ends up teaming up with Black Widow and Falcon after an assassin kills the director, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Cap is branded a traitor for being suspicious of the others in the organization. Olsen makes her first appearance as Wanda Maximoff in a cameo appearance in this film, which foreshadows her involvement in future installments of the franchise.
"Every scene and every character interaction prove that the movie's creative team truly understands the core appeal of Cap himself." — Michael Burgin, Paste
Metascore: 68
Best for: Fans of potential world-ending stories and villains with God-like powers
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This 2018 MCU film from the Russo brothers sees the titular Avengers have to take on Thanos, a warlord looking to wipe out all life, everywhere. Thanos is currently trying to collect all of the Infinity Stones, which will help bring his plan to fruition, but he starts the film with only one of them in his possession. It is up to our favorite Marvel superheroes to keep him from acquiring the rest, which is much easier said than done, especially as he begins killing some of these heroes. Olsen, once again, appears as Wanda aka Scarlet Witch, now working with Captain America.
"Using the strength of its powerful and interesting villain to set the stakes higher than ever, Avengers: Infinity War successfully brings together the past 10 years of Marvel movies into a largely effective cocktail of super- heroic dynamics." — Scott Collura, IGN
Metascore: 66
Best for: Those who are wary of technology and fans of new superhero partnerships
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Joss Whedon's 2015 MCU film centers on a big mistake Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, makes when trying to resurrect an old plan for global defense. He repurposes an artificial intelligence (the titular Ultron, played by James Spader), but when it develops a god complex and decides to wipe out humanity in order to save the Earth, the Avengers have to reassemble to stop it. Although initially attacked by the Avengers, Olsen's Wanda ends up — SPOILER ALERT — getting ready to train to become one of them by the film's end. This is the first film in which the audience really gets to see what abilities she, and her twin brother Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), have.
"The sort of sequel ... that shrugs off the self-seriousness of its predecessor and fully embraces its inner Saturday-morning serial." — Scott Foundas, Variety