I like Elizabeth Olsen more and more as the years go by, but one thing remains the same: she’s a pretty dull interview. She covers the latest issue of ES Magazine, and I’m honestly more interested in the article about hair-washing. ES Magazine is the Evening Standard’s in-house weekly supplement, so Olsen is talking to a British audience. As such, she was asked about what it’s like to be an American in the era of Trump. Incidentally, I’m sort of shocked this hasn’t been happening more to American actors: how is it that so few of them are actually asked about the disastrous political situation in America? It does feel like Americans should have to “explain” what’s happening to the rest of the world and at least apologize (even if we didn’t vote for him). Anyway, some highlights from ES Magazine:

Her fears for America: “It’s horrible to think how the rest of the world is viewing the United States right now. You don’t really know how to fix it as an individual because you can’t. What is cool about what’s happening right now, however, is that while people have always talked about causes that they are interested in, now they are actually actively a part of them.”

She still really wants an advertising campaign: ‘People want to be a part of something that’s giving back to something else. I would like to be a part of that because it’s something that I would be proud of. But it’s also something that would help me as an actor trying to get films made.’

Her ‘Wind River’ role research led her to volunteer: ‘I ended up visiting the rape treatment centre in Santa Monica. It’s an amazing facility, for adults and minors. I was like, “What could I actually do?”’ Volunteers run the playroom, so Olsen went through a training course. When she finished filming, she returned to volunteer and now makes it a habit every Tuesday. ‘Going and playing cards with a bunch of really sweet people and just making them feel like a kid when they’re going through a traumatic experience — that to me is something I can walk away and be happy with… You make connections. If you go at the same time every week you see the same people. I see the same people every week when I’m in town. It’s a beautiful community… It’s really an incredible, supportive place. I love being a part of it.’

There is no love story in ‘Wind River’: “[The director] had to fight people on it. Because some people want that to happen. They think that it’s going to make it a better movie or more people would want to see it. Which was one of the reasons I loved the script. It’s just a man and a woman having a partnership trying to figure out how to provide justice for this young girl. The women in his film end up being the strongest. They’re the ones that fight for their life the hardest. He wanted the women to be the survivors.’

She loved living in London while working on Age of Ultron: ‘If I could live in any city, I would want to live in London,’ she says. She was put up there by the Marvel team and hung out with her friends the Taylor-Johnsons, exploring as much of the city as she could by foot. ‘People from London thought I was insane walking from Primrose Hill to Shoreditch along the canal. I ended up having to stop and get blister pads.’

[From ES Magazine]

“It’s horrible to think how the rest of the world is viewing the United States right now.” Agree. I have to say, though… I focus so much on how much damage Donald Trump is doing internally, within America, I can barely focus on how much damage he’s doing internationally. But this: “What is cool about what’s happening right now, however, is that while people have always talked about causes that they are interested in, now they are actually actively a part of them.” Yeah, why do people keep saying this? That’s not the silver lining that people think it is. It’s not a silver lining that thousands of people have to come out to counter-protest white supremacists now. It’s not a silver lining that tens of thousands of women have to physically demand that they be treated as human beings. (But good for her for volunteering at a rape crisis center.)

Photos courtesy of ES Magazine.