The actor Scarlett Johansson wishes she was more like
Scarlett Johansson had drawn acclaim from her contemporaries across the film industry for her excellent performances in blockbusters and independent cinematic hits. Natalie Portman once said of the American actor, “I had watched her for so long since we were kids, and she’s so true always, and so good”.
After making her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in 2010 in Iron Man 2 as Black Widow, Marvel finally gave Johansson’s character her own film in 2021 with the release of Black Widow.
Black Widow is set just after the events of Captain America: Civil War and sees Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, on the run, heading back to Russia to confront her past. She had initially been an undercover agent, posing as the daughter of an unassuming Ohio family.
Johansson performed alongside Florence Pugh, and the Hollywood legend once revealed profound respect for her contemporary actor. “I don’t have a little sister,” Johansson said of her co-star. “But with Florence, it feels to me like there are some elements of big sister little sister”.
She added, “I wish I was as confident as she is when I was her age. She’s body confident and has a lot of self-respect. She reminded me – just by listening to her talk about relationships with friends, family, or her partner – how important it is to have confidence in your beliefs and desires”.
The respect for Florence Pugh is mutual too. Pugh starred as the pretend sister of Natasha Romanoff (Johansson), Yelena Belova, who had also trained in the secret Soviet training program, the Red Room, as a Black Widow.
“What was really lovely was that we said hello, then went to the front of the audience and watched a clip. All this time, Scarlett had marched out like she was their queen. She’s so amazing and effortless,” Pugh said. “Then we watched the clip, and I was scared because my Russian accent was going to be out there, and I didn’t know what it sounded like. I’m also playing a character who no one’s seen before, but they’ve read about her; I didn’t know whether people were going to hate me”.
She added, “We both stood there, and I instantly had clammy, sweaty hands. Scarlett gave me her hand, and we squeezed each other; and she also had clammy hands! And then I was like, ‘Oh, this never gets old. This is just as powerful, and you’re their legend'”.
