Scarlett Johansson portrayed Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame and Black Widow which she is also the executive producer of the film and will produce an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe project.
Significant roles[]
- Laura Nelson in North (1994)
- Katie Armstrong in Just Cause (1995)
- Emily in It Lucy Fell (1996)
- Molly Pruitt in Home Alone 3 (1997)
- Grace MacLean in The Horse Whisperer (1998)
- Kathy Caldwell in My Brother the Pig (1998)
- Birdy Abundas in The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
- Rebecca in Ghost World (2001)
- 15 year old Suzanne in An American Rhapsody (2001)
- Ashley Parker in Eight Legged Freaks (2002)
- Charlotte in Lost in Translation (2003)
- Griet in Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
- Mindy in The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004)
- Meg Windermere in A Good Woman (2004)
- Jordan Two Delta/Sarah Jordan in The Island (2005)
- Olivia Wenscombe in The Prestige (2006)
- Annie Braddock in The Nanny Diaries (2007)
- Mary Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
- Silken Floss in The Spirit (2008)
- Anna Marks in He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
- Kelly Foster in We Bought a Zoo (2011)
- Janet Leigh in Hitchcock (2012)
- Barbara Sugarman in Don Jon (2013)
- Samantha in Her (2013)
- Lucy in Lucy (2014)
- DeeAnna Moran in Hail, Caesar (2016)
- Kaa in The Jungle Book (2016)
- Ash in Sing (2016)
- Major Mira Killian in Ghost in the Shell (2017)
- Jess Thayer in Rough Night (2017)
- Nutmeg in Isle of Dogs (2018)
- Rosie Betzler in Jojo Rabbit (2019)
- Ash in Sing 2 (2021)
Quotes[]
- "I hope it will happen. I don't know if that's where it's going go but she's definitely a big part of the Avengers."
- "I think that Marvel is very much invested in these characters just as much as the fans are, just as much as I am."
- "You want the fans to like the character, you want them to believe in the character, root for them, and want to see them again. So I'm hoping that if the fans support the character, that we'll see her again."
- "I just flew in from New Mexico, where I’ve been shooting The Avengers. A bunch of the cast is here tonight but I’m here to support the troops. Chris Evans and I are presenting. We’re right in the middle of scenes and figuring a lot of stuff out. I’ve been training a lot and doing all sorts of exercises"
- "The other day we were doing this big reveal shot of all the Avengers. Thor has got his hammer, Cap’s got his shield, Hawkeye has his bow and arrow, and the Hulk is huge. Then it pans over to me and I’ve got guns. Iron Man’s like, hovering above all of us, ready to go... I was like, ‘Joss… um… do I look okay holding these guns?’ and he responded 'She’s a total badass. She’s a killing machine."
- "I love playing the Widow. I think she's got a very interesting past, a lot of storylines to explore, and certainly Kevin (Feige) loves that character."
- "I think that Marvel has a very personal relationship with their fans, and I think if the fans want it, and the audience wants it, nothing's impossible. I would love to explore that option [a spin-off] as well. Like I said, I love the character and it would be nice to see something nice and gritty."
- "Joss said to me, 'I want to do everything I can to keep this from being,' in his words, a sausagefest.'" I said, 'That's disgusting, but okay.' "
- "I knew that I didn't want to play a love interest. That's not who Widow is. I think Joss understood the importance of having a female perspective. He's a very sensitive guy. He works really well with women. He obviously can write for them! He loves strong and independent women and he's got a certain understanding of, and an appreciation for, women who take charge of the situation, of themselves - so it was clear to me that the character would not be underwritten."
- "I don't think Widow things about proving herself. She's incredibly confident. She has no interest in being on anybody's good side. She's not looking to be top of the class. I don't think there's any ego involved there. She leaves that ego stuff for the big man in the iron suit, I guess. I think she's just incredibly practical."
- "Black Widow is all business. She’s sort of in a grey area. In a sense she’s been fighting the good fight, despite her dark background. But she’s committed because she has to be and her moral ground is more dutiful. She’s militaristic in that way; that’s how she knows right from wrong."
- "To be honest, I really didn’t know what the future would hold for the Black Widow after Iron Man 2. I didn’t know how the fans would respond, but to be a part of the Marvel Universe and playing such a dynamic, ass-kicking character is pretty exciting. The first time you saw this character in Iron Man 2, you didn’t get to learn much about her because she’s a bit of a slippery fish. She still has many different faces she puts on and, to this day, she still is divisive in that way. In this film, audiences will get to see more of her history and kind of shady past, which to me is very exciting because the darker part of the character was always very appealing to me."
- "Stunts and fights are a huge part of my work on this film and being able to have a fighting style that audiences remember from Iron Man 2 is awesome. Jonathan Eusebio created and choreographed the style and look of the movements and Heidi Moneymaker, my stunt double, helped me learn them. What they both did for me is so important because it is just as much a creation of the character as whatever dramatic work I put into the job."
- "We definitely embraced the Wushu a lot and there’s definitely more weaponry. It was a bit complicated because I could pick up all the hand- to-hand movements pretty well, but then he would say, ‘Oh yeah, here’s this giant staff you have to be holding while your doing the movements.’ So I am like, ‘Wait a minute, I had all those movements down and now I’m fighting with a 20 lb. giant stick?’ I have to be honest, the first time I saw what they had in mind I was like, ‘I’m never going to be able to learn this.’ So it’s just a lot of failures until you get it right, but boy do those failures hurt sometimes!"
- "There were characters that were supposed to be in it that people said were in it like Moon and I think there was a Ms. Marvel rumor, I can't remember. But they were all kind of character rumors more than plot rumors."
- "Yes, we’re both part of the Marvel universe. We compared, contrasted our notes, our experiences ... how wonderful Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are. It was nice to be able to share our stories of on-set experiences. We have a mutual love for them, so strongly."
- "I’m completely excited to venture down that path. This is why January 1, 2013, was a glorious day to wake up to [laughs]. I’m very grateful and very lucky for what’s going on right now. I think you have to allow yourself to be excited about the magnitude of something like [Cap 2]."
- "No, actually. Of course in "Avengers" particularly you start to see the relationships forming between these characters, and all of us have very specific relationships with one another. Of course we all know how we feel about one another. We work and all use each other in different ways. We all have very specific opinions about one another. I think that Joss laid the groundwork for a lot of interesting connections. That's why the audiences are so intrigued by that film because they love to see how these characters react to each other that come from completely different universes."
- "We’ll be shooting that in January. I think we’re taking it to the streets this time, I think we’re going overseas."
- "This film is in real time. It's been two years since the characters appeared, and now both are agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fighting in the streets. We are not superheroes flying side by side. They help each other because we are fighting in a similar way. It’s a working relationship."
- "By a series of unfortunate encounters, they will be in a situation in which their friendship becomes more intimate. They share many similarities because they live on the defensive without relying on anyone. Also, the two have been working for the government throughout their professional careers. With their friendship they begin to question what they want and what is their true identity."
- "It is a big commitment. When you wear it you are well aware that with latex you leave no doubt. My physical preparation with the costume was painful. Until you get used to it, everything hurts and is horrible. Once you learn the choreography you really feel like a superhero, but until you get to that point it’s exhausting."
- "I love it. I think it is a sensational character. It is a professional, highly skilled, dangerous, mysterious superhero. I love playing it. I think that it is rare to find a woman sexy and intelligent on the big screen, able to fight anyone (including men) and overcome them physically and emotionally, and my character does it."
- "The majority of the superhero movies have not been very good. They were simply not made well. They were about spinning through the air and putting your hands on your hips. With the Black Widow we do something more, although of course the physicality and her image is important. To me, this character has given me a great opportunity. Joss has jumped the fence with Avengers to celebrate a female character that is not a simple ornament inside the group. He’s not interested in just selling her physical attractiveness."
- "The idea of it is ridiculous! When they told me that was the next step, I said, 'Oh, no! That is a disaster! You saw Thor, you saw Captain America, you saw Iron Man - those things don't go together!' "
- "We're so out of the loop! I'm expecting delivery of the script any day now. When it comes you can guarantee It'll be read in 25 minutes."
- "My first Marvel film was Iron Man 2 and then we did The Avengers and then Chris Evans and I did Cap 2, but I think that film, there's a couple of new characters. The Falcon is a new character in that, and of course Sebastian Stan is kind of continuing his character, obviously he's playing the Winter Soldier. But these characters really kind of take on something bigger than they've ever seen, so I think it's something that they can't do without each other. In that sense, we were in it, kind of neck-and-neck, and it's a bigger responsibility. But then again, even in Avengers 2, we all play in it, it's not like, "Great, I'll be booking, like, two days a week and then be eating sandwiches the rest of the week." No, it's on. We all are fighting in it together, we're all fighting our own battles and our own demons and it's a lot of dramatic work, and the physical part of it, so the films all have their own challenges, but it's fun."
- "No, I’m busy planning Avengers 2 right now... that’s my main focus. I’ve never been a big planning kind of person. I’d never share it with anybody, but I think more than anything I feel really fortunate to have had this amazing year professionally."
- "Oh boy! Well, we can expect the Avengers. Joss, again, is back, wrote the script, and is directing. I think the script is dark and it’s dry, it’s got this amazing one-liner, glass-cutting sense of humor. Obviously the script is very cerebral. It doesn’t lose that exciting comic book aspect that people enjoyed in the first film, but it’s smart and it feels like the next installment. It doesn’t feel like a rehashing, it feels like these characters are moving forward, plotlines are moving forward. It’s deep and I think that’s why people really respond to the Marvel universe, because the films are fun and exciting and have all that flashy stuff, but there’s a gravity to them. People can expect that gravity this time around."
- "I don't spend a lot of time in my catsuit in this one. I take it to the streets in a different way, There's a real kind of Big Brother aspect to this film. All that Cap and Widow know to be true, everything that they trust in - as much as they trust in anything - is sort of ripped out from underneath them in a way that we haven't seen before. Everything is not as it seems. It's not so black and white, it's not so cut and dry, it's not good versus evil. The stakes are much higher. It brings them closer together because they find themselves in a vulnerable situation and they're in it together."
- "In Avengers 2 we go back..we definitely learn more about Widow's back-story, and get to find out how she became the person you see. All of these characters have deep, dark pasts, and I think that the past catches up to some of us a little bit."
- "There were all kinds of characters at the premiere. There was a Ms. Marvel, there was a Wasp and a lot of Black Widows out there...one thing I got from all of them is that there is space- they're excited to see a female represented in these movies. I think Marvel's kind of heard that note and you'll see some pretty strong female characters in Avengers 2 coming up."
- "The thing about working with Marvel is that how loud the audience voice is. Marvel, and particularly Kevin Feige, is such a fan of the source material himself that he understands the fans are kind of what drive this train. If people want a Black Widow film, I’m sure that we can get something together."
- "The Widow costume is probably the most comfortable of the superhero suits because it doesn’t require a built-in air conditioning unit, like Hemsworth’s does. I don’t have under-armor. I don’t have a huge leather cape, headdress, whatever. It’s pretty straightforward. It’s kind of like a wet suit actually: sort of this one piece. And I’m always amazed when it goes on and zips up. I’m like, “Wow, it’s on.”"
- "That’s interesting. First of all, when the character is talking to Loki, she’s kind of putting up this front. She’s not, as we come to realize, being completely honest with him. It’s partly for her Widow face that she wears. And in this film, we really get to see a lot more of Natasha. I like to think that Natasha has a romantic side."
- "People were surprised that I wanted to play a comic book heroine. But I loved Iron Man, and I met with Marvel to see what was possible. I had done my research, and the Black Widow character resonated with me. She is dark and has faced death so many times that she has a deep perspective on the value of life. In the sequel, you learn more about the sadness in her past. I think of her that way. Black Widow is a superhero, but she’s also human. She’s small, but she’s strong. It’s hard not to admire her."
- "I did all of the motorcycle riding. I embarrassingly rode some sort of mechanical-bull type of motorcycle, which goes nowhere and doesn't look cool, at all. But, I had some very professional and amazing motor-cross morphing done that makes Black Widow look like a total badass."
- "Every film is exciting because I get new tools and fun new stuff to do, and luckily Joss writes me some badass moves that make me look like that. It’s awesome."
- "In the beginning of Avengers 2, there is some sense, finally, of everything being normal, in a way ... And at the end of Avengers 2, I think Widow ... had this moment of false hope, where she felt like she'd put in the work and [felt] there should be some kind of personal payoff, and she was ready to accept it. She realizes that her calling is a greater one, which is not necessarily something that she's thrilled about. That's what is most heroic about her, she's accepting the call of duty, even at her own personal loss. I think it's an interesting place to leave her."
- "I have read the script for Civil War. You know, the film has a very different feeling than anything of Marvel’s that I’ve read or been a part of before. These films are—I don’t think darker is the right word because there’s definitely always going to be some kind of levity, and that comes in a form of humor or hope. When you compare these films to like Batman, it’s a different feeling obviously, it’s a different audience experience, but as the stakes loom like larger and larger I think these films are kind of maturing with the audience; so there’s even more complex psychological twists that I sort of hadn’t necessarily anticipated."
- "I’m excited to work with the Russos again. They have a very different approach to this universe than Joss, just different. It will be interesting to see how they treat all of these new characters. When we were doing Cap 2Cap 2, the film felt very much like we were doing a kind of ‘70s style car-chase political-thriller, it had that kind of flavor. But they were also dealing with far less characters, the stakes were just different. Now with Civil War it’s gonna be interesting to see how they set up this next phase, I think Cap 3 is definitely sort of like a pre-Avengers 3 and 4. It feels like that, whereas Cap 2 didn’t feel like it was necessarily part of The Avengers. I mean, it feels like a piece that fits in, but it didn’t feel like it was leading you into Avengers 2."
- "I’ve spoken to Kevin about it. I mean, of course, of course we’ve had that conversation before, and I think Kevin would also like to see a standalone film. I think I can speak for him and say that. That’s all, really. Right now I think this character is used well in this part of the universe, but I think that Kevin—I mean, we’ve talked about it and we both share similar vision for what could be a standalone series."
- "I think that there’s room for a standalone movie. The character has a really rich origin story and I’ve been really fortunate to kind of place all these layers on top of one another and kind of build up this character to this point where I think I can now start to peel them away and reveal different sides of her and really focus on—I think I’ve been able to grow with the character, the character’s been able to grow with me."
- "It’s been a very good relationship back and forth and I think Marvel—the one thing about working with them is they don’t want anybody to work on the movie that doesn’t want to be there, obviously. So whatever you’re contracted to should not feel like golden handcuffs, and they don’t want that either… I will certainly be around and that’s because it’s been such a great response. I mean, I’m always happy to put the cat suit back on, for sure."
- "I think that the Widow's past will always haunt her. She's trying to move forward, she's trying to pick up the pieces of her life. I think we'll see parts of that in Cap 3 when we find her. And certainly she has a greater purpose, and I think that greater is charged by this need to escape her past. So, it's always kind of right there, kind of looming over her shoulders."
- "I can't elaborate too much on it, but as the scope of these movies is larger and larger and the danger kind of looms larger and larger, I don't want to say that the film has a darker tone, but the film has a darker tone and I think it's maturing along with the fans."
- "When we last saw her I think the stakes were astronomical. And she basically had to make this choice between duty and what she probably deserves. I think up until this point, she has put the hours in and is ready for... You know, I don’t think she’s ever aspired to become an Avenger. That’s not really a choice that she made. It’s kind of like the events in her life led her to that point and when we see her, she’s finally capable of making a choice for herself. Which is kind of a milestone in someone’s life when they’ve not really participated in the decisions that were made for them. She’s finally at a place where she’s going, ‘Okay, I actually kind of know what I want. And I think I kind of deserve it."
- "Unfortunately the events that took place … she has this kind of greater calling and this huge pull towards doing what’s right for the greater good. And she chooses that, and it’s a really heroic thing that she does, I think."
- "Yeah, I don’t know if she’s leading this team but she’s certainly, she’s — I think Natasha’s a very strategic thinker and that’s her strongpoint. Her superpowers, if you want to call them that, are her experience, her ability to make usually the right decision in a quick moment, in a tight minute. And she’s not personally invested. I mean, that’s what she tells herself anyway. And so that keeps her head kind of level and clear."
- "I think when you find her in Civil War, she’s looking to strategize her position, putting herself in a place where she is able to let the powers that be fight it out or whatever amongst themselves. She’s always a little bit on the perimeter so she can have a better perspective of what’s really going on."
- "'he’s never been one to divide and conquer. I don’t think that’s her. She’s seen that and it never works. She would see this as a kind of, it’s more complicated than picking sides, you know?"
- "You know, I think she understands where everyone is coming from. And none of it really matters to her, you know? There’s a bigger problem at hand and she’s, I think, strangely, kind of the mediator. Which is not exactly how you would imagine her to be. But I think she really does see both sides of the coin and I think her strength is that she’s not personally involved."
- "I think she knows what her strengths are, and I think she has the ability to be a leader of sorts, but she works well in a team."
- "There is little room for romance in Civil War. I think she’s just, it’s not the right time. It’s one of those things where you think of the person with a lot of fondness. You keep that in a warm place in your heart for them. It would have been very easy for us to take that and turn it into bitterness in this film and have her be reactive. But that would be out of character, I think."
- "You know, I’m happy that people scrutinize the Widow’s storylines and care about it and are invested. I’d much rather it be like that than have a kind of “meh” reaction. For me to have people say that would be, ouch, you know? Everything that I’ve done with the Widow, to me makes sense. It’s in line with active decisions that I’ve made for the character. I’ve been able to develop this character very closely with Joss and the Russos."
- "Yes, of course! That’s better than the mediocre reaction, definitely. We expect that. The character is so beloved. You can only hope that people are going have opinions about it, you know? She somehow ends up always on top, even if you’re not always in agreement with how she gets there."
- "It's difficult. I really like playing Natasha; playing the Black Widow. It's been an interesting journey, to take a character and grow it over these years, and peel the layers back and be able to, as you do in life, grow with this person. It's a character that's really enigmatic and has an amazing origins story, so there’s a lot for me to play off of. People like the puzzle pieces. It's part of the fun of the Marvel franchise. They like to see these little pieces come together, and [discover] little references that they knew from the comics and stuff, so it's fun. I like that."
- "Yeah, of course. I talked to them about it [a Black Widow solo movie] often. It would have to fit in the idea of where they want to go. I’m invested in that character. Marvel is greatly invested in that character. If I did it, I’d have to do it while I still actually wanted to wear a skin-tight catsuit. I don’t know how much longer that’s going to be."
- "I would like for it to happen under the right circumstances. I think there’s a lot of opportunity to mine that story line. She’s got a really rich origins story. There’s a lot of places you can go — you can bring it back to Russia. You could explore the Widow program. There’s all kinds of stuff that you could do with it. You could really uncover the identity of who this person is, where she comes from and where she’s part of."
- "It’s a possibility. There’s plenty of back story. Or not. It could be something else. Where do the Avengers go? They are underground. What happens then? What happens after it all falls apart? There are so many ways you can go. I think it would just have to be very much like its own specific thing. It would have to have its own specific vibe. It would have been totally different than any of the other standalone films. I think if the fans wanted it enough, then it would probably become a reality."
- "I really can't. I can' think of anything that I could possibly say. Alright. I'm in it, at one point, I do think that the Infinity Wars - there are 61 or 62 marvel characters in it. There's a lot. In one particular scene, I think there's 32- there's a lot. There's so many of us. I don't even know who's a Marvel character and who's a crew member, honestly."
- "I did not want it to be an origin story, I did not want it to be an espionage story. I didn’t want it to feel superficial at all. I only wanted to do it if it actually fit where I was with that character. I had spent such a long time peeling those layers away—I felt that unless we got to something deep, then there was no reason to make it."
- "Because I did my job in Endgame, and actually felt satisfied with that. I would have been happy to let that be it. So there had to be a reason to do it other than just to milk something."
- "the film talks about a lot of tough stuff. It deals with a lot of trauma and pain." She went on to talk about her hopes that the movie will deal with "self-doubt and insecurity and shame and disappointment and regret and all that stuff too. It has many different things, it’s not just that. But there’s a lot of deep stuff, I think, that drives it.""
Trivia[]
- She shares the same birthday date, November 22, with Mark Ruffalo.
- Scarlett was married to Ryan Reynolds who portrayed Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity and Deadpool/Wade Wilson in the Deadpool film series.
- Scarlett co-starred with a number of actors and actresses from other Marvel movies including Samuel L. Jackson in The Spirit, Scott Terra in Eight Legged Freaks, Hugh Jackman in The Prestige and Scoop, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Connelly in He's Just Not That Into You, Natalie Portman, Eric Bana and Andrew Garfield in The Other Boleyn Girl and Anthony Hopkins, Danny Huston and Jessica Biel in Hitchcock. She also previously worked with Chris Evans in The Perfect Score and The Nanny Diaries. She also worked with Jeff Goldblum, Liev Schreiber, Edward Norton and Tilda Swinton in Isle of Dogs.
- Scarlett was considered for the role of Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 3 before Bryce Dallas Howard was cast.
- Scarlett was considered for the role of Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in Fantastic Four before Jessica Alba was cast.