Scarlett Johansson on being a Black Widow and a mom
LOS ANGELES – Wearing a cropped top and displaying a very flat tattooed tummy, Scarlett Johansson is looking fit as ever.
Now 34 and a mother of four-yearold Rose Dorothy Dauriac with former
husband ad exec Romain Dauriac, Scarlett is busy these days promoting the blockbuster franchise, “Avengers: Endgame” where she portrays spy and assassin Natasha Romanoff a.k.a the Black Widow, being mom, and preparing for her own solo Black Widow movie.
Since she joined the Avengers family in 2010, does she feel she has done everything already?
“I am cooked,” she replied. “Over the past 10 years, I can only speak for my character’s arc, but my character started in ‘Iron Man 2’ as a glorified secretary with this secret skill set and the big reveal, her true identity wasn’t revealed until the last part fraction of the movie. In ‘Avengers,’ I really got to be one of the boys for better or worse and that was fitting then. As time has gone on and the audiences have really asked for to see on screen character arcs and the diversity that represents what is going on in the zeitgeist, and pushed for stronger female presence, my character has also been able to show more facets of herself and come into her own as a woman as have I in my own life. There’s obviously a whole future ahead, so many possibilities to explore as the character continues to understand herself.”
So can she address the goodbyes and the hellos since there might be a “Black Widow” movie?
“Time is an illusion, none of this matters,” she explained. “One thing is for certain, that we have had the incredible luxury and privilege of coming back to these films, not depending on them for better or worse, give or take every year and a half, every two years, battered and bruised from other jobs and life in general and then having this pillar of strength just knowing that we have got this job and this family to come back to.
“That part is over. Knowing that is the bittersweet, we all feel that whatever we have captured in this, in the way that this looks and all of its many multi-facets and pieces, has come to an end. So we are still all processing that. As far as who continues and how they fit in, Marvel is very fluid and that is what makes
This time around, because the last film was so plotdriven and there was so much going on, this time around audiences can expect a more character-driven story.
it so unusual. They have their slate, but things slide around always and it’s a very reactive process.”
But has there been a moment that was just the adrenaline rush, just a cool moment, a skill set that she doesn’t have in everyday life that she got to do in the movie?
“That is rare, because the movies are so explosive and quick-paced and most of the time they are not character-driven but plot-driven,” she pointed out. “This time around, because the last film was so plotdriven and there was so much going on, this time around audiences can expect a more character-driven story. We really got an opportunity to work with one another. There are so many incredible actors and our cast is so diverse, experienced, and grounded. It’s nice that we have all had opportunities to share unique emotional moments in this one.”
In the early 2000s, we saw her do a lot of small independent movies. Does she plan to go back to these movies?
“I just try to work on stuff that is interesting and challenging in that I don’t know how I am going to do, but I know I can do it and then start from there. Whether the budget of that film is massive or it’s a play or developing something that is producing for other people, I am always looking for stuff that is challenging and something that I haven’t done before,” she said.
So does she still make accessories during her down time?
“Am I as crafty as I used to be? I don’t have time for crafts anymore,” she confessed. “I mean I do arts and crafts with my daughter, but anything that requires patience and small pieces, no, I just don’t have time for any of that stuff.”
Scarlett, who went to school in Manhattan, New York, admitted that her close friends these days are still “my friends in middle school and also in high school. So I was always excited to see my friends, even though I was bumming about homework and whatever else is on your mind. I loved the social aspect of school and there were some teachers I was excited to start class with and then others I was like bummed about. But I really liked the routine of school. I was traveling a lot. I was working a lot as a kid. So just coming back to something that was routine, was very grounding for me. So I looked forward to that.” for learning new stunts and skills, Scarlett revealed, “Oh gosh, it just takes longer to recover and now I am scared of hurting myself because I know I am not coming back (laughs). But yeah, I am pretty proficient at most stunt work. I have definitely had a lot of training over the past decade. There are some things that I am good at and other things that are just frustrating. I didn’t take martial arts for years and years. It’s one of those things where you either have had the training forever and you have that discipline or you don’t. “I am better at learning choreography than mastering a martial art, because I get very frustrated. I don’t have the discipline of years and years of training. I like to be good at the things that I do and when I am not immediately good at them… that is my first fatal flaw probably.” So has she used any of her skills to protect herself in real life? “Fortunately, I have never had to brandish a weapon in real life. I have definitely had to handle a lot of actual weapons for my job, but never had to pull a knife on anybody thank God.”