In a recent interview with The Guardian, ‘WandaVision’ star Elizabeth Olsen talked about her battle with anxiety and panic attacks.
“I’ve gone through phases of it,” the actress explained her use of meditation. “Figuring out what works for me, or what works enough. No one talked about panic attacks in the mid-2000s. I thought it meant you just write a list and check things off and get over it. I didn’t realise it was something you had no control over, but I had to figure out how to have some control.”
Olsen has shared about this time before, but not much. At their peak, she dealt with them every day. “Multiple times, like, almost every hour!” she revealed. “It was literally, like, any time there was a shift in something: hot to cold, hungry to full. I thought, ‘Oh, is this OK?’ And then it would spiral and it just became this habit.”
She had to stop her racing thoughts, so she began naming everything she could see in her mind to help calm herself. She hasn’t experienced them since. The actress added, “You learn very quickly who you feel comfortable around and who you don’t.”
Olsen played Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch, in the Marvel Universe. She first appeared in 2014’s ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ and continued in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and other films. In 2021, Wanda got her own Disney+ series, ‘WandaVision.’ Her story ended with Olsen playing the villain in 2022’s ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.’
Last month, the actress discussed returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Scarlet Witch. While promoting her film ‘His Three Daughters’ on FM 104, she was asked if she would play Wanda Maximoff again. She said she would be happy to return, but only if the character is ‘used well.’
Olsen mentioned that her role was strong at first, but hinted that things changed in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.’ She said, “They kind of didn’t know what to do with me for a second there. If there’s a good way to use her, I’m always happy to come back.”
Several ‘WandaVision’ spin-offs are in the works. One of them is the upcoming ‘Agatha All Along’ series. Paul Bettany, who played Vision, is also expected to return in his own show.
