Scarlett Johansson reflects on feeling ‘hypersexualized’ and ‘pigeonholed’ early on in her career

Scarlett Johansson described feeling “hypersexualized” and “abandoned” in the early stages of her acting career in Hollywood.

The 37-year-old Black Widow star appeared on Dax Shepard’s podcast, armchair experton Monday, talking about how people in the industry saw her as older than she was, preventing her from getting the roles she wanted.

‘I was a bit objectified and pigeonholed in this way, feeling like I wasn’t getting job offers for things I wanted to do. I remember thinking to myself, “I think people think I’m 40 years old,” she revealed.

‘Because I think everyone thought I was older and that I had been’ [acting] For a long time I was kind of pigeonholed in this weird hypersexualized thing,’ the beauty remarked.

“The runway isn’t long over there. So then it was a bit scary. In a weird way, I thought, “Is this it?”‘ she added.

However, the New York native noted that things in the industry seem to be changing for the better.

Objectified: “I was kind of objectified and pigeonholed in this way, feeling like I wasn’t getting job offers for things I wanted to do,” the 37-year-old actress shared; Pictured 2006

‘Now I see younger actors in their twenties. It feels like they get to be all these different things,” she said.

“It’s another time too. We can’t even pigeonhole other actors anymore, luckily, right? People are much more dynamic,” added Johansson.

The blonde bombshell began her career as a child actor, but rose to prominence when she was 17 years old, playing Charlotte in the 2003 Sofia Coppola film, Lost in Translation, alongside Bill Murray (then 52, now 72) for which she created a BAFTA Award for Best Actress won.

Hypersexualized: ‘Because I think everyone thought I was older and that I was’ [acting] I was kind of boxed in this weird hypersexualized thing for a long time,’ the beauty remarked; Pictured 2004

Johansson was five years younger than her character – a young woman left alone in the Tokyo Park Hyatt by her photographer husband, played by Giovanni Ribisi.

In the romantic comedy, she befriends a middle-aged movie star (Murray) who shoots a whiskey commercial there, as they consolidate together in their loneliness and at one point even share a kiss.

The young beauty went on to play a temptress in the 2005 psychological thriller Match Point, when she was just 19 years old, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who was 27 at the time.

Young Star: Johansson rose to fame when she was 17, partnering with Bill Murray (then 52, now 72) in a romantic drama titled Lost in Translation. She was five years younger than her character’s age; Pictured with Murray in a still

The film’s controversial director, Woody Allen, 86, was later criticized for calling her “sexually radioactive” in his memoir Apropos of Nothing.

Since then, she has starred in a number of other notable films and will then be seen in a new drama film called The Sea Change which will be the directorial debut of Oscar nominated actress Kristin Scott Thomas.

Thomas is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as The English Patient, alongside Ralph Fiennes and Four Weddings And A Funeral with Hugh Grant.

Very young: The beauty then played a temptress in the 2005 thriller Match Point, when she was just 19, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who was 27 at the time; Pictured in a still from Match Point

Yaks! The film’s controversial director, Woody Allen, 86, was later criticized for calling her “sexually radioactive” in his memoir Apropos of Nothing; Pictured in 2005

Based on Elizabeth Jane Howard’s 1959 novel of the same name, the film centers on famed London playwright Emmanuel and his ailing wife Lillian – who never actually buried the memory of the couple’s late daughter Sarah.

The couple’s rocky marriage then takes a surprising turn when they travel to a remote Greek island.

Scarlett is believed to play Lillian, but details for her role are yet to be confirmed.

Next one! The blonde bombshell will next star in a new full-length drama titled The Sea Change, directed by Kristin Scott Thomas; Johansson pictured in 2021