The Oscar-winning role Scarlett Johansson bombed her audition for: “Yes, I did”
Considering that there are many routes to becoming an actor, it’s interesting to think about how Scarlett Johansson got her start, and she set herself up for a long, successful career as one of the most diverse actors of the current generation.
Johansson’s foray into the world of film was fairly unique, and while many of our biggest Hollywood A-listers put in years of blood, sweat, and tears before even gaining their first-ever role, Johansson’s came at the young age of nine, when she was cast in the 1994 Rob Reiner-helmed fantasy film North.
An opportunity that would have likely needed a hefty amount of preparation and training had it been anyone else, Johansson proved that her skill set was already deeply ingrained, later saying that, on set, she instinctively knew exactly what she needed to do. This intuition is something she has brought to every project, no matter how seemingly small.
Over the following years, Johansson performed a few minor roles before 1998’s The Horse Whisperer drew broader attention, likely because it was also framed as her first major role, but also because it showed a nuance to her that surprised even herself. She even later implied that it was the first time she discovered acting could shape emotions; a realisation that set her on a path to becoming a more refined actor who understood the value of a good storyteller.
Now, Johansson has seemingly done everything, from independent dramas to superhero blockbusters, all while navigating the increasingly difficult landscape of being a major female name in the Hollywood arena. In fact, Johansson has endured what many actors of her calibre have endured, and faced significant highs and lows throughout her career, some of which hinge on the more trivial aspects of being a big name in the business, like her views or, worse, her appearance.
However, Johansson remains resilient through it all, likely because she’s also encountered the more difficult side of the job and all of its processes. Auditions, for instance, are fairly hit or miss for most actors, and even the more high-profile or established ones can be shot down time and time again. For instance, Johansson was initially vying for Anne Hathaway’s role in Les Misérables back in 2012, but a series of factors during her audition set her back up for failure.
As she recalled to Broadway, she “sang my little heart out”, but she also had laryngitis at the time, which likely affected her chances of landing one of her dream roles. “The jazz hands kid inside me was just over the moon,” she said, adding that she did “everything” not to let it show. However, she also said that she felt the outcome was “meant to be” because “there’s no possible way I ever could have topped that performance” by Hathaway.
Johansson is right – it would have been nearly impossible to pull off what Hathaway did, who quite literally poured blood, sweat and tears into her performance, making it one of the more emotionally resonant roles of the entire piece. Johansson could have likely given it a good go, but it’s one of those films that’s difficult to imagine with any other cast; they all made their characters entirely their own.
Many of Johansson’s own projects feel the same way. For instance, it’s hard to imagine anybody stepping into the role as Natasha Romanoff in the MCU or someone like Charlotte in Lost in Translation – the latter of which was undoubtedly the moment she proved to the world she was one of Hollywood’s biggest and most powerful players, in a role that was quite easily hers and no one else’s.
