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Elizabeth Olsen recalls failed ‘Game of Thrones’ audition: “It was awful. I didn’t get a callback”

By Megan Stone Jun 23, 2021 | 9:00 AM


Dominik Bindl/Getty Images

Elizabeth Olsen is already a star because of her role as Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the WandaVision actress reveals that, had a particular audition gone right, she may have made a name for herself a lot sooner.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Olsen revealed she auditioned for Game of Thrones for the role that eventually went to Emilia Clarke –Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons.

Unfortunately for Elizabeth, the audition was a disaster.

“I auditioned for, like, the assistant to the casting director in a small room in New York with just a camera on me and them reading the script,” the actress recalled. “I was doing the Khaleesi speech when she comes out of the fire. It was awful. I didn’t get a callback.”

Obviously, everything worked out in the end when Marvel tapped Olsen to play Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. That opportunity, Olsen reveals, “Was the result of a general meeting” with Avengers director Joss Whedon.

“I just went to tea and he told me, ‘Look up the Scarlet Witch, look at these comics,'” she explained, noting how that fateful meeting turned into a life-changing moment.  “I signed on for two films and a cameo. I’ve gone through three rounds of contracts with Marvel already.” That includes a co-starring role in the forthcoming movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

“It really has benefited me because they continue to use me not because they have to, but because they think there’s story that can be used,” says Olsen, “and so even though I’ve had my own scheduling conflicts that have broken my heart in certain moments, I have always felt like they had a plan for me.”

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