Scarlett Johansson has shed light on the formidable challenges associated with portraying a character across a sprawling Marvel ensemble film series. The actress, who embodied Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for an impressive eleven years, recently engaged in a revealing chat with David Harbour, her co-star from the 2021 prequel film, Black Widow, for Interview magazine. During their discussion, Johansson opened up about the intricacies of donning the same mask for such an extended period.
"Some Marvel films deeply immersed my character, while others less so," Johansson conceded. "Take Captain America: The Winter Soldier, for instance, where the synergy between Chris [Evans] and I was electric. Conversely, in other installments, the ensemble was so colossal and the narrative so dense that I felt like a mere cog in a grand machine. When you're committed to such an intensive shoot spanning five and a half months, personal sacrifices abound – no nail polish, no haircuts. These might seem trivial, but when your identity becomes inextricably linked to this role over years, the lack of engaging material can make an actor feel somewhat restricted and yearning for new horizons."
Harbour, who portrayed Alexei in Black Widow and has been the heart of Netflix's Stranger Things as Hopper for nearly a decade, with the fifth and final season slated for release later this year, empathized with Johansson's sentiments. "Initially, I was over the moon," he reminisced. "Veteran TV actors warned me, 'By season three or four, you'll be running on empty.' I confidently dismissed their concerns, 'Never! I adore these characters.' But eventually, you find yourself pondering, 'How much more story is left to tell?' Repeating the same beats can evoke a yearning for risk-taking, for showcasing facets of myself unseen before. Hence, after a decade, the sentiment becomes, 'Alright, it's time for something fresh.'"
Elsewhere in their conversation, Harbour disclosed an intriguing tidbit: Johansson was listed as an executive producer on his latest venture, Thunderbolts*. He congratulated her, stating, "It's the premiere of a film where you are the seventh Thunderbolt, your character prominently featured throughout. An executive producer no less – congratulations!" Johansson swiftly clarified, "I requested my credit be removed as I wasn't involved," hinting that her inclusion was perhaps a contractual obligation.
Harbour's Alexei and Florence Pugh's Yelena made their MCU debut in Black Widow before spearheading Thunderbolts*. The star-studded cast also featured Sebastian Stan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lewis Pullman, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Olga Kurylenko, and Geraldine Viswanathan.
