Actors doing their own stunt work is a tradition that dates back to the beginning of the film industry. It’s a chance for actors to commit to their characters and show off their talent and passion by putting their bodies on the line. Elizabeth Olsen isn’t one of those performers.
Olsen, who plays Marvel’s Scarlet Witch, has stated that she is done performing her own cinematic stunts and has no desire to do it again.
During a recent interview, Olsen stated that she could see the appeal of performing stunts for some performers, but she did not fall into that category.
“One’s stomach gives out. It’s kind of like the thrill that some people get from riding roller coasters; I don’t understand the appeal, but I know that many do,” she said.
Actors like Jackie Chan and Tom Cruise have built their reputations by performing their own stunts. Both have displayed incredible levels of bravery in their film work, from free-falling from a skyscraper without a safety harness to hanging from the side of a moving jet.
Elizabeth Olsen, who played Scarlet Witch in the Sam Raimi-directed Marvel flick, said she didn’t do all her stunts. Even so, the actress saw no purpose in trying, reasoning that a stunt double could perform the job with far less time and effort invested.
“In ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,’ there is one in which I was dropped from a height of 30 feet and forced to land on my feet. They continued dropping me because they wanted it to look like I had taken an impact. That’s when I suggested we swap in a double.
“Face swap. They routinely do it, and they did use it,” she added.
Many Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) actors have done their own stunts to increase their performances’ authenticity and emotional stakes. As Captain America, Chris Evans is well-known for doing many of his own stunts, including the memorable helicopter sequence in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
