Scarlett Johansson has accomplished the status of an a-lister in her career as an actor. But like many celebrated actors, she also had to face rejection for some wonderful roles she desired to be in.
Johansson really wanted the role of Sandra Bullock in Gravity. Well, not just her, some other celebrities were on the line for the role before Bullock including Angelina Jolie, Marion Cottilard, Blake Lively, and Natalie Portman. However, director Alfonso Cuarón went with Bullock in the acclaimed $685 million sci-fi.
Scarlett Johansson Was Frustrated Losing the Gravity Role
Scarlett Johansson was in the race for the Gravity role which eventually went for Sandra Bullock’s favor. Johansson is still dwelling on the Alfonso Cuarón-directed Oscar-winning movie role. Recently, talking to Entertainment Tonight, The Asteroid City actor revealed that she was frustrated after losing the role of a stranded astronaut in space.
“I did a screen test for the movie ‘Gravity,’ that Sandra Bullock is fantastic in, but I had to be in, like, the full whole space suit thing, and sort of pretend I was kind of like floating in space. Even though I was just sitting in a chair with a helmet on,” Johansson said.
The Black Widow actor was also turned down for the Iron Man 2 role when she was struggling with getting satisfying movie roles amidst being offered a series of unfulfilling characters to play. “The first was Iron Man 2 and then the other one was Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity,” Johansson told Variety. “I had wanted that role so much. It was sort of the straw that broke the camel’s back. I felt really frustrated and hopeless. Like, ‘Am I doing the right job?’”
“The work I was being offered felt deeply unfulfilling. I think I was offered every Marilyn Monroe script ever. I was like, ‘Is this the end of the road creatively?’” she added.
The actor further admitted that she almost lost hope and passion for acting until Spike Jonze’s 2013 film, Her which somewhat reignited her passion for the job. Recently, the actor starred in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City.
Scarlett Johansson Shared Her Experience working With Wes Anderson
Anderson has been regarded as a remarkably unique filmmaker with his own narrative style of storytelling obsessed with symmetry on screen most of the time. Johansson first collaborated with the director in his 2018 animated adventure comedy, Isle of Dogs, and has returned to Anderson’s cinematic universe with his latest Asteroid City. Johansson plays an actress, Midge Campbell in the film who, as she said, is a sociopath. “Wes has such a great sense of irony. I think that you see that in his films,” Johansson said (via Deadline).
“He observes things in your performance, that are very exiting…and you’re doing it and he notices it, and the performance becomes more nuanced because he encourages certain behaviors,” she added.
Speaking of the director’s behavior on set, Johansson told Collider that Wes has a very light attitude when filming. “I don’t know what would surprise anyone, I don’t know what their assumptions are about Wes, but Wes has a very light, positive, excitable attitude on set,” Johansson said. “You know, sometimes if you think of an auteur, they seem kind of, like, serious and concentrated, and very particular, and the set’s really quiet, or whatever,” she added.
“Wes is very lively on set, he makes noise while you’re working, you can hear him laughing and making noises. He’s really excited by the process, and he somehow has more energy as the day goes on. He’s so invigorated by work, and he just works constantly, and he comes off the set and he’s so excited about the work that you did that day, he’s already prepping for the next day. He’s so engaging and very funny and very vivacious.”
Asteroid City was released on 23 May 2023 and currently showing in select theatres.
Source: IndieWire.
