Scarlett Johansson’s greatest asset as an actor, according to Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson can never be accused of being impartial. The director is famous for having his favourites and has collected quite the stable of regular collaborators over the years. Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Adrian Brody, Frances McDormand, Edward Norton, all of these legendary names and more have worked on at least three of the iconic filmmaker’s projects, with his little black book of Hollywood friends growing all the time.
Recent converts to the church of Anderson include Benedict Cumberbatch, who appeared in a series of short films the director made based on stories by Roald Dahl, Tom Hanks, who had a starring role in Asteroid City, and Scarlett Johansson. The ‘Black Widow’ actor first joined the fray for Isle of Dogs, a stop-motion animation where she voiced a former show dog trapped on an all-canine peninsula. Her live-action Anderson debut came in the aforementioned Asteroid City, where she played one of the lead roles, and she is set to appear in the upcoming comedy spy thriller, The Phoenician Scheme.
An actor of Johansson’s calibre would be a welcome addition to any director’s set. Few actors have toed the line so spectacularly between mainstream blockbusters and arthouse passion projects. As an Avenger, she is one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, yet she’s also appeared in the brain-scrambling horror Under the Skin and delivered an emotionally devastating performance in Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story.
Which of her many talents was Anderson first drawn to? “Scarlett’s voice is so expressive and interesting,” he told Variety. “I would say it’s her greatest strength.” That would explain why he first cast her in a voice role then, but he also clearly thought it could work in a live context. The role she plays in Asteroid City, that of a fading Hollywood starlet, is perfectly suited to her gravelly yet distinctly feminine timbre, as it is sweet enough for silver screen, yet harsh enough for reality.
Despite being born in New York City, Johansson’s paternal family are from Denmark, which might explain why she has such a recognisable voice. Anderson isn’t the only director to have noticed her dulcet tones, as she’s also lent her pipes to Kaa in the 2016 live-action remake of The Jungle Book, Princess Mindy in The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie, and Ash the porcupine in the phenomenally successful ‘Sing’ franchise. She’s also a singer, having released two albums and four EPs.
Easily her most iconic voice role is her outstanding performance in Spike Jonze’s Her. She plays Samantha, a formless AI who falls in love with Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely letter writer in a technologically advanced role. Through her voice alone, Johansson is able to convey everything from Samantha’s initial naïvety to her elation at falling in love to the bittersweet heft when she and Theodore’s relationship comes to an end. All of this is even more impressive when you realise that Johansson wasn’t even cast until post-production.
Considering how successful she has been in the world of voice acting, Johansson’s experience in the field is relatively small. Perhaps it will be something she’ll explore more of as she gets older, or maybe she’ll save it for special occasions, like whenever Wes Anderson picks up the phone.
