On the red carpet for her new A24 romantic dramedy Eternity, Elizabeth Olsen opened up to The Movie Dweeb about which of her many intense, complicated characters she’d happily spend forever with, and which one she’d gladly leave behind. Given the chance to pick just one role to live with in the afterlife, Olsen didn’t hesitate: “I’d like to play Candy Montgomery from Love & Death for eternity,” she smiled. “That was just fun.”
For anyone who’s seen Love & Death, the HBO Max miniseries chronicling the real-life suburban murder scandal, “fun” might seem like a surprising word. But Olsen said the experience was creatively rich and surprisingly enjoyable, despite the dark subject matter. Candy’s contradictions; sweet yet dangerous, ordinary yet impulsive, clearly offered the kind of psychological depth Olsen relishes.
When asked who she’d least like to spend eternity with, Olsen pointed to Leigh Shaw from her series Sorry for Your Loss. “That was a heavy thing to do for two seasons,” she admitted. “I’m happy we did it… But I was like, clean my hands of it.” She spoke fondly of the experience, but made it clear it took a toll. “That was a lot to carry.”
As for her MCU alter ego Wanda Maximoff, or even Instagram-favourite anti-influencer Taylor Sloane from Ingrid Goes West, Olsen diplomatically steered clear.
From Wanda to Martha: Olsen’s Unforgettable Filmography
Elizabeth Olsen has built a reputation for playing emotionally charged, morally complex women, and she’s done it across blockbuster universes and prestige projects alike. She first broke out with her riveting performance in 2011’s Martha Marcy May Marlene, and has since taken on everything from grieving widows to cosmic witches.
Her portrayal of Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch, became a cultural milestone thanks to her spellbinding performance in WandaVision. It earned her critical acclaim, Emmy nominations, and the kind of global recognition few actors ever reach. But Olsen has never rested on Marvel’s laurels, consistently pursuing grounded, often uncomfortable roles that challenge her and subvert expectations.
Love & Death marked one of her most recent turns toward true crime. As Candy Montgomery, a Texas housewife charged with a brutal axe murder in 1980, Olsen balanced vulnerability with volatility. The series allowed her to stretch her skills in new, thrilling ways, and as she told The Movie Dweeb, it’s a role she’d be happy to revisit endlessly.
Eternity: Love, Death, and the Afterlife
In Eternity, Elizabeth Olsen plays Joan Cutler, a woman forced to make the most impossible choice: in the afterlife, she must choose between her doting late husband Larry (played by Miles Teller) and her long-lost first love Luke (Callum Turner), who died in war and has been waiting in limbo for 67 years. The film is a bittersweet rom-com set in a vividly imagined way-station called The Junction, where the dead are offered every kind of paradise, and one week to choose.
Joan’s dilemma drives the heart of the movie: does she stay with the man who built a life with her for decades, or rekindle the romance with the man who never got the chance? Olsen’s performance grounds the film in emotional truth, navigating themes of regret, nostalgia, and enduring love with grace and vulnerability.
Director David Freyne conjures a surreal but heartfelt vision of the afterlife, blending vintage Hollywood glamour with a bureaucratic absurdity that’s both hilarious and poignant. The world of Eternity, equal parts department store, train station, and 1960s dreamscape, is unlike any cinematic afterlife we’ve seen before.
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