Scarlett Johansson, star of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, believed she had been groomed into being a bombshell actress and couldn’t break free.
Scarlett Johansson, aka Black Widow, discusses her acting career
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Scarlett Johanson told Variety that she was doing films like Lost in Translation with Bill Murray and The Girl with the Pearl Earring with Colin Firth when she was 18 or 19 years old.
She felt like she was discovering herself and her sexuality at the same time she was constantly playing the other woman or the object of desire.
The Black Widow actress felt trapped in her role as the bombshell actress known for her beauty, and she couldn’t get out of it.
She eventually grew out of that rut, as evidenced by appearances in films such as Marriage Story with Adam Driver, in which she demonstrates emotional depth not previously seen in her career, and Taika Watiti’s Jojo Rabbit, in which she allowed her quirky personality to flourish.
That wasn’t without having to fight through the constant barrage of roles that were constantly played on that part of her, from Don Jon with Joseph Gordon Levitt to even having her voice be the object of desire when Joaquin Phoenix falls for it in Her.
She told Variety that it would have been easy to look at her work and conclude that it was successful, but that kind of career burns bright and quickly, and then there is nothing left for you.
Scarlett Johansson used her longest-running character in the MCU, Natasha Romanoff, to demonstrate that she was more than a face and a body.
Even at the start of her run, when Marvel was still figuring out how to use female characters as more than just arm candy for their heroes, Johansson’s screen time was frequently used as a romantic interest or implied with tension between no less than four of her male co-stars.
Her character was described as underdeveloped and hypersexualized by her. You become a household name by having fans recognize you for something, but if you are not careful, you can easily be pigeonholed into one role for the rest of your career.
Scarlett Johanson, on the other hand, refused to accept this, and she is now one of Hollywood’s most talented and sought-after actresses.
