SCARLETT ON HER ALTER EGO
THE ACTRESS IS DELIGHTED TO COME FULL CIRCLE WITH HER ALTER EGO BLACK WIDOW IN A STANDALONE OUTING FOR THE CHARACTER
Scarlett Johansson has grown up with her Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) character Natasha Romanoff. She’s already portrayed the spy in seven movies, including Iron Man 2 (2010) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), and this month the star, 36, returns to the role in the standalone film Black Widow. Off camera, Johansson is married to Saturday Night Live writer Colin Jost, and co-parents her daughter Rose, 6, with ex-husband Romain Dauriac.
How do you feel about your character, and how she’s evolved over the years? It’s been a unique and super-rewarding experience. I started in Iron Man 2 when I was 24 years old, now I’m in my mid-30s with a daughter. I’ve worked on myself as a person and as an actor to hopefully evolve in some ways. It feels like a unique opportunity to have a character’s journey partly reflect my own journey. I think this film is the culmination of all of that growth. I’m so proud of it. How would you describe a character you have played so many times? She is a very interesting and complicated person. She’s had a really hard life. She is a survivor, a reluctant hero and she has a lot of stuff inside her that is unresolved. Now I finally have the opportunity to resolve it, and it was really cathartic to be able to have that experience, to flesh out her story and to play her with a lot of honour. What did you want to achieve in this film? Obviously, I want the film to do really well and for people to enjoy it. I also want it to be fulfilling for fans of Marvel and for fans of the character. I want to be the same person I have been throughout the 10 years. I don’t want it to feel like, just because she has a standalone, it’s not grounded in the history that we already know of the character. Will Black Widow push the boundaries of what a Marvel movie can be? Yeah, for sure. It’s brutal and breathtaking, raw and truthful, and visually masterful. This is what I always envision for Black
Widow. That’s how I feel we can elevate the genre with this film. Did you get a chance to take a memento of your time as Black Widow? I believe in returning all props to the property department of Marvel, so I never took anything. I never even thought about it. It’s all property of Marvel!
What does a project need to have to make you want to say yes to it?
A big part is who I am collaborating with. It’s so hard to make films. You want to know that you have a partner that is going to support you, and that will let you in, too. That’s really important. I like to work on stuff that is challenging, stuff that I have never done before. That’s what I look for, really. I like things that scare me.
You’ve had an amazing run of success on the big screen …
I’ve just been really fortunate to work with some incredible writers and directors. It seems like there are more opportunities for women to have roles that are not the sidekick/wife/other woman. We’re seeing a lot of opportunities for women to play fully realised people, so I attribute it to that. Are you happy with the changes that are happening in Hollywood with regards to the representation of women?
Yes I am. I’m hopeful.
Finally, how does it feel to be part of such an amazing group of actresses for the next phase of the MCU?
It’s great. There’s a lot of women up there that I hugely admire: Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek [Eternals], Rachel Weisz [Black Widow], Tessa Thompson [Avengers: Endgame], and Natalie Portman [Thor] is back, too. It’s bananas! It grounds the presence of the MCU in a way. It’s very exciting to see such a diverse group of people. It’s awesome and it’s about time.
Black Widow is in cinemas now and available on Disney Plus with Premier Access Fri., Jul. 9