July 7, 2016 | People
We caught up with Scarlett Johansson at last week’s School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s (SAIC) Gene Siskel Film Center Renaissance Award 2016 gala to find out how she stays motivated in the industry, why she especially enjoys playing Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, and more.
Scarlett Johansson was honored by the Gene Siskel Film Center with the 2016 Renaissance Award at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel last week.
“You know, I really, really love my job,” says Scarlett Johansson, as she reflects on her megawatt career thus far. And, who could argue? In the 31-year-old actress’ over 20 years in the film industry, she’s nabbed some pretty cool (and varied) roles—in movies like Lost in Translation, The Nanny Diaries, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, He’s Just Not That into You, and The Avengers (and its many sequels and spin-offs). She’s even mesmerized audiences with her voice alone, in Spike Jonze’s Her.
So, it’s no surprise that, even though Johansson is young, she was chosen to receive the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s (SAIC) Gene Siskel Film Center Renaissance Award for her impressive career and accomplishments in cinematic artistry. Last week, the Gene Siskel Film Center Advisory Board presented Johansson with the award during their 2016 gala, aptly called “Celebrate Scarlett – An Evening with Scarlett Johansson,” which culminated in a discussion about her work between the actress and legendary film columnist Richard Roeper.
We caught up with Johansson on the red carpet beforehand to ask her some of our own questions.
Johansson credits her love of her job above all else. “I think that is what motivates me,” she says. And, the more time she spends in the industry, the more she learns and evolves. “I'm learning more about my job [and my] boundaries—how far I can push them, what makes me comfortable, what makes me uncomfortable. And that curiosity [helps me figure out] how to get better at what I do, how to refine my performance, and how to find my kind of natural rhythm.”
“Those things keep me going; keep me interested,” Johansson says of the aforementioned curiosity and exploration of her boundaries. “And challenging myself, and trying to find projects… that I don't know exactly how to do, but know that I can do them.”
“It's difficult!” Johansson says of choosing. Ultimately, though, “I really like playing Natasha; playing the Black Widow [in The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War]. 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.”
And it doesn’t hurt that Johansson gets to play this role alongside some equally talented stars, like Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Don Cheadle as Lieutenant James Rhodes/War Machine, and Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, among many others. “It's not a bad company to be in!” she says.
“People like the puzzle pieces,” Johansson says. “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.”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF SCHEAR/FILMMAGIC
