The Oscar-nominated actress Scarlett Johansson opens up about early Hollywood pressures, Bill Murray’s behavior on set, and reclaiming her identity after years of being cast as a “sex object.”
Scarlett Johansson is looking back at the complicated aftermath of her breakout role — and how it nearly boxed her into a narrow identity in Hollywood.
In a candid new interview with Vanity Fair, the Black Widow star recalled the years following her critically acclaimed performance in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation (2003), which she filmed at the age of 17. Though the film catapulted her to stardom, it also ushered in a troubling pattern in the roles she was offered.
“After Lost in Translation, every role that I was offered for years was ‘the girlfriend,’ ‘the other woman,’ a sex object — I couldn’t get out of the cycle,” Johansson revealed. “It sort of felt like, ‘Oh, I guess this is my identity now as an actor.’ There wasn’t much I could do with that.”
She attributed part of the issue to the industry’s long-standing norms and acknowledged that even her representation at the time wasn’t steering her away from being sexualized. “They were reacting to the norm,” she said. “The industry worked like that forever.”
While she stopped short of using the word “exploited,” Johansson admitted, “It was a kind of an exploitation. You come into your sexuality and your desirability as part of your growth, and it’s exciting to blossom into yourself… then suddenly you’re like, ‘Wait, I feel like I’m being… used.’”
Johansson also addressed her experience working with Bill Murray, who starred opposite her in the Tokyo-set indie drama. Though she was discreet, she shared that Murray was “in a hard place” at the time. “Everybody was on tenterhooks around him,” she noted. “Including our director and the full crew.”
The two reunited earlier this year during SNL’s 50th anniversary taping, where Johansson observed a change in the actor. “He’s such a different person now. I think life has humbled him,” she said, adding that she was alluding in part to the halted production of Being Mortal, which was shut down after Murray was accused of inappropriate on-set behavior.
“Certainly, yes—that was really bad,” Johansson acknowledged of the incident, in which Murray admitted to kissing a woman on set through a mask, claiming it was a joke. “But I also know COVID was a hard thing for him… But you know what? How wonderful that people can change.”
Despite the challenges and objectification early in her career, Johansson remains proud of how she handled herself during those formative years. “I’m pretty proud of how I handled myself,” she said. “I really just did the work. It’s a good tactic for pushing through stuff. Eyes on the prize.”