Elizabeth Olsen Reveals the “Awkward” Reason She Avoids Robert De Niro in Public

For most actors, sharing a set with Robert De Niro would be the kind of career highlight worth talking about for years. For Elizabeth Olsen, however, it’s the source of an enduring—and admittedly awkward—social dilemma.

Speaking to Business Insider, the WandaVision star confessed that despite working with De Niro on the 2012 thriller Red Lights, she still can’t bring herself to approach him in public.

“I feel like I see De Niro often, even just in a hotel or something,” Olsen explained. “We were in the same film together that no one saw, and we shared a four-hour meal once with all the other actors. I would never go up to him and say, ‘Hey!’ I wouldn’t even know what to call him. Bob? I don’t know. I just avoid that stuff. It’s so awkward.”

From Co-Stars to Strangers

Olsen and De Niro crossed paths in Red Lights, directed by Rodrigo Cortés (Buried), where she played Sally Owen, a student assisting her mentors in debunking a famous psychic—played by De Niro—who may have been involved in a decades-old murder. The film failed to make much of a splash, but for Olsen, the real takeaway was learning how to navigate interactions with a living legend.

Her hesitation isn’t about a lack of respect—in fact, it’s the opposite. Calling De Niro “Bob” feels, to her, strangely unfitting for an actor of his stature. “Bob” might be a casual nickname for your uncle or a friendly neighbor, but for the two-time Oscar winner and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, it just doesn’t capture the gravitas.

When Social Anxiety Meets Stardom

Olsen has been candid about her social anxiety, often folding that discomfort into her performances. Off-set, though, it can make casual encounters with colleagues—especially icons—feel daunting.

“I… don’t want to put someone in a weird position,” she admitted, adding that she sometimes forgets she’s even worked with certain people because she assumes they wouldn’t remember her.

That anxiety extends to other high-profile co-stars. Since joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2015 as Wanda Maximoff, Olsen has worked alongside Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and the entire roster of superhero heavyweights—but it seems even the Avengers’ Scarlet Witch isn’t immune to a bit of starstruck awkwardness.

Will She Ever Break the Ice?

Olsen and De Niro haven’t shared a set since Red Lights. She jokes that working with him again might make approaching him in the wild less intimidating—or possibly even more so.

Until then, the next time she spots the Raging Bull star across a hotel lobby, don’t expect a warm “Hey, Bob!” from Olsen. More likely, she’ll be quietly slipping out the side door, grateful to avoid one more moment of public awkwardness.