In the mid-2000s, when gossip stories about twenty-something actresses behaving badly dominated headlines, Scarlett Johansson was nowhere to be found. Johansson was certainly one of the most respected actresses of her generation, having made an impact in a number of roles as intriguing young muses to older men in crisis, but she preferred to limit her dramatic behavior to movie screens. For her physical allure and intelligence, the born-and-bred New Yorker was courted by creative filmmakers like Robert Redford – who gave her a breakout role in “The Horse Whisperer” (1998) – the Coen Brothers, Frank Miller and Woody Allen, who cast her in his late-career hits “Match Point” (2005) and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (2008). Johansson’s translucent skin, curvy figure and flair for distant melancholy made her well-suited for period dramas like “Girl with the Pearl Earring” (2003) and “The Other Boleyn Girl” (2008), but the versatile actress also connected with young adult audiences for personifying the complex modern woman in films like “Ghost World” (2001) and “Lost in Translation” (2003), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination. Johansson’s number of intellectual pursuits outside of Hollywood also suggested that the poised performer would still be going strong when others her age had long since burnt out.
| Actor | |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Lost in Translation |