Scarlett Johansson says the acclaim she earned in Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film Lost in Translation led to offers that confined her to roles defined by sexuality. In a Vanity Fair interview, she described how, after that breakout, “every role I was offered for years was ‘the girlfriend,’ ‘the other woman,’ a sex object. I couldn’t get out of the cycle. It felt like that became my identity as an actor.” She added that agents and studios were following industry norms rather than challenging them.
Johansson spoke of the contrast between finding her own voice and feeling used. “You’re expressing yourself, turning into who you are, then suddenly you feel used,” she said, steering clear of a heavier term. She praised her own persistence, noting she kept her “eyes on the prize.”
Looking back on the Lost in Translation set, Johansson recalled Bill Murray as “in a hard place,” keeping the crew on edge. “He was dealing with his… stuff,” she said. Their paths crossed again at Saturday Night Live’s fiftieth anniversary, where Murray appeared much more at ease. Reflecting on his on-set conduct during the 2022 film Being Mortal, which led to its shutdown, she commented, “Life has humbled him. People can change.”
Johansson then turned to the wider impact of tech moguls on filmmaking. She argued that many of the same figures who fund studios and award ceremonies have quashed dissenting creative voices. “These big tech guys are funding our industry,” she said. “We’re being limited in many ways because they’re intertwined with every part of our lives.”
On artificial intelligence, she described a clash with OpenAI founder Sam Altman. After declining to voice an AI character, she discovered that a demo of the new “Sky” system sounded eerily like her. “I was shocked and angered that the demo sounded so much like me,” Johansson said. Altman denied copying her voice and paused the rollout of the system. Johansson urged that a clear set of rules for AI use must be established.
She also recounted a viral deepfake that falsely showed her making a rude gesture to Kanye West—an incident that left her feeling isolated in protecting her image. Johansson acknowledged uncertainty about the best way forward but called for a united effort among artists and audiences.
