Scarlett Johansson: I Never Wanted To Be A Sex Symbol, Fame Is “Weird”
May 1, 2012 by Hollywoodite
Scarlett Johansson is on the final leg of the exhaustive promotional tour for The Avengers, which has already grossed nearly $200 million international thanks to opening nearly one month ago in some territories. And the domestic opening box office is predicted to trounce the caveat-laden record set by The Hunger Games.
For some reason giving an interview to a British newspaper, long after the London premiere, when it’s the North American box office at stake, Johansson tells to the UK’s Independent Newspaper that she’s over fame and she’s over being a sex symbol. The same things she’s been whining about all year. So don’t dare call the ingenue ScarJo. Unnecessary, cutesy monikers and portmanteaus are part of the “weird” fame lamented in this interview. Along with her claim she won’t be pigeonholed any longer because of her body type (she maintains Black Widow is not on type, jiggling in a catsuit with nothing underneath, because the character’s not weak).
On being pigeonholed: ‘I never wanted to be a sex symbol. I wanted to be a character actor. Those are the actors I mostly admire. I think women that are curvy can be pigeonholed in that bombshell thing. It’s not like I actively look for sexy roles. It’s not a requirement that my character be pretty and delicate. I never think about my character being sexy, unless that’s written in.’
On her level of fame: ‘It’s weird to be a recognisable face. I’m not traumatised [by it] but I find it can bring out the worst in humanity sometimes. I’m constantly surprised by how rude people are. You’ll be having an intimate dinner with a friend and there’s somebody on the table behind with a camera phone pointing at your face. I think, ‘I would never take a photo of someone without asking.”
On being a former child actress: ‘When I was younger, my mum made sure I had a relatively normal life I went to school, I had neighbourhood friends, I went to camp. That kind of thing. Also, it was different back then. Recently, the media is unhealthily obsessed with very young actors. They’re very critical of them.’
On her personal life: ‘I don’t answer any questions about my private life. I’m not a politician or anything like that, so I shouldn’t have to reveal that. I mean, people have enough. They pry so much that some things need to be personal. I feel no pressure. I just feel pressure to show up to work on time. I don’t feel like I have to be a certain way.’
On why she’s leather-clad in The Avengers, if she’s averse to being sexy: ‘It excited me to play the part in Avengers Assemble of a very strong woman. Oftentimes in action films, and in comic-book movies, the female is the damsel in distress or a love interest, something like that. But Black Widow is intimidating. She wasn’t fighting and posing with the wind in her hair! She gets down and dirty; I like that.’
On the incorrigible Marilyn Monroe comparisons, and casting rumours about last year’s My Week with Marilyn: ‘I never wanted to play Marilyn Monroe. I don’t know. It’s just a job; I didn’t have the passion for that. I love Marilyn Monroe. She’s a very underrated actor but it just seemed exhausting in a way that I couldn’t wrap my head around.’ – via The Independent.