Scarlett Johansson told CBS Sunday Morning that the early 2000s were a “really tough time” to be a young woman in Hollywood. The “Lost in Translation” star said that at the time, it was “socially acceptable” for female actors to be “set aside because of their looks.”
“It was difficult. There was a lot of emphasis on a woman’s appearance,” Johansson said. “Back then, what was available to women my age was much narrower than it is now in terms of acting roles and opportunities.”
Johansson added that young women in 2026 will have “much more empowering roles” than they had in “my 20s.” When Johansson appeared in the industry, she said it was “Slim Pickens.”
“You’re going to be really stereotyped and offered the same (role), and it’s going to be some other woman, or a supporting role, a bombshell,” she said. “That was the typical type that was popular when I was that age.”
Johansson found solace in typecasting in the New York theater scene. Stepping away from Hollywood also taught her to wait for the “right role” instead of succumbing to the pressure of “always working.”
“It’s something I learned over time, but it’s difficult,” she explained. “Once you start working, you feel strongly that every job is your last. You feel that if you have the opportunity to work, you have to keep taking it, even if it’s not as varied as the work that really brings you joy.”
she continued. “Every actor feels that way, because acting is so competitive. Once you’re in the spotlight, you want it to be on you forever. So I think that’s an instinct for any young actor, or any actor.”
Johansson was just 17 years old when she broke out in Sofia Coppola’s 2003 drama Lost in Translation. Her other early film work includes “Perfect Score,” “Match Point,” “The Prestige,” “The Other Boleyn Girl,” and “Iron Man 2.”
