Jun 30, 2025 12:31 PM IST
Actor Scarlett Johansson, who began her career as a child actor three decades ago, reflected on the evolving landscape of Hollywood for women.
Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson reflected on how far the film industry has come — especially when it comes to the roles offered to women. In a recent interview with The Times, the two-time Oscar nominee spoke about how things have changed in Hollywood since she first started working in the industry as a child actor. According to Scarlett, there’s been a noticeable evolution in the kind of stories being told and the way women are represented on screen.
“The messaging is different — there are many more role models, women are visible in powerful positions and the opportunities I have had to play women who don’t have to just be one thing or another have increased,” she said.
Looking back, the 40-year-old actor recalled a time when most of the roles available to her were largely shaped by how desirable her character was to male characters, or how her arc supported a male-led story. “When I was younger, a lot of the roles I was offered, or I went for, had their ambitions or character arcs revolving around their own desirability, or the male gaze, or a male-centred story. That is less frequent, though — something has shifted,” she said.
Her observations come after decades in the spotlight. She made her screen debut at the age of nine in North (1994) and gained early acclaim in films like The Horse Whisperer (1998), Ghost World (2001), and Lost in Translation (2003). She then became a global icon through her role as Natasha Romanoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, culminating in her own standalone film Black Widow in 2021.
Her thoughts on being typecast aren’t new. Back in 2022, Scarlett spoke about how being “hypersexualized” early in her career made it difficult for her to land more dynamic or varied parts. “I kind of became objectified and pigeonholed in this way where I felt like I wasn’t getting offers for work for things that I wanted to do,” she had said at the time.
She currently stars in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme and also Jurassic World Rebirth. She also made her directorial debut with Eleanor the Great, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month.
