In conversation withThe Hollywood Reporteras part of the annual Drama Actress Roundtable, Johansson, 34, opened up about the difficulties she faced when casting directors only saw her in one light.
Though she doesn’t point to any past projects in particular, some of her films from that time of her career included InGood Company(2004),The Island(2005),Match Point(2005), to name a few.
Johansson is now the highest-paid actress in Hollywood,according toForbes— but she says the limited scope of roles she was once offered made her consider stepping away from an onscreen career altogether.
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“It was really difficult for me to try to figure out how to get out of being an ingénue or the ‘other woman’ because it was never anything that I had intended,” she said. “… I remember thinking at the time that maybe I needed a different job in this industry that would be more fulfilling, because it seemed like there was nowhere to go.”
Renée Zellweger, one of the other actresses included in theTHRroundtable — along withLaura Dern(Little Women, Marriage Story),Jennifer Lopez(Hustlers)Lupita Nyong’o(Us) andAwkwafina(The Farewell) — related all too well to the studio system’s knack for confining young actresses to sex appeal.
“As a young person starting out, I would get the cut-off shorts jobs and the ‘other woman,’ the one-night-stand girl … and I thought, ‘I think I’m going to not do this anymore because I know where that road will go,'” Zellweger,50, said, “‘I don’t know what it’s going to look like ultimately, but I bet it would be really hard to get off that road.'”
Scarlett Johansson inMarriage Story.Netflix
Zellweger added: “There is the inevitability of your body changing and you growing older. I want to work in a way where I can portray women who are relatable throughout my life. I don’t want to have to stop at a particular time because I can’t wear the cut-offs anymore because it looks weird.”
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This year, Johansson demonstrated that roles for women are more wide-ranging than ever. Not only did she lead the pack in the superhero blockbusterAvengers: Endgameover the summer, but the star has been met withawards buzzforJojo RabbitandMarriage Story, in which she portrays two differently complex mothers.
“The climate is so different now,” Johansson said. “There’s so many wonderful opportunities for women of every age to play all different types of people.”
Jojo Rabbitis now in theaters.Marriage Storyis on Netflix on Dec. 6.
source: people.com
