Scarlett Johansson says she felt 'hopeless' and questioned acting future after losing role to Sandra Bullock
Johansson told Variety that losing the lead in 'Gravity' to Sandra Bullock, after also losing 'Iron Man 2' to Emily Blunt, left her questioning whether to keep acting before she landed the Black Widow role.
Scarlett Johansson said she was turned down for two major roles before ultimately landing the part that launched her Marvel career, according to a Variety interview reported by Fox News on May 13, 2023. "I got turned down for two roles -- the first was 'Iron Man 2' and then the other one was Alfonso Cuaron's 'Gravity,'" Johansson said, per the report.
The 2010 Marvel role initially went to Emily Blunt, who later dropped out over a scheduling conflict with 'Gulliver's Travels,' opening the part to Johansson, the outlet reported. The 2013 sci-fi film 'Gravity' went to Sandra Bullock. Johansson, 38 at the time of the interview, described the Gravity loss as the more painful of the two: "I had wanted that role so much. It was sort of the straw that broke the camel's back. I felt really frustrated and hopeless," she said, adding she began asking herself, "Am I doing the right job?"
The Fox News report, citing Variety, did not specify exactly when in her career these two rejections occurred relative to each other, beyond both preceding her eventual casting as Black Widow. Casting-decision details from Marvel or Cuaron's production were not part of the source reviewed for this restoration.
Feeling typecast
Johansson also described feeling pigeonholed by the kinds of roles she was being offered around that period, despite her 2003 breakout in 'Lost in Translation' having earned her a Golden Globe nomination and a BAFTA win, per the report. "It was hard to get out of that pigeonhole," she said, adding that the work she was being offered "felt deeply unfulfilling."
How she ultimately got Black Widow
With Blunt out of the running for 'Iron Man 2,' Johansson became the first choice for Black Widow, the outlet reported, a role that grew into an eight-film run across the Marvel Cinematic Universe even though the character was given limited screen time in that first appearance. The report also noted Johansson credited her roles in 'Under the Skin' and 'Her,' both released in 2013, with reigniting her interest in acting.
US In News compiled this archived account from contemporaneous coverage by Fox News, citing Variety. It restores a story originally published on this site in May 2023; figures are as reported at the time.