She may be a huge Hollywood star, but that doesn’t mean that Scarlett Johansson hasn’t experienced rejection in her career.
The Black Widow actress just opened up to Parade about being a “second choice” in Hollywood.
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Being an actress hasn’t always been easy for Scarlett Johansson.
The 35-year-old began her career when she was only a preteen, with small roles in The Horse Whisperer and Home Alone 3 .
Since then, the Oscar-nominee has garnered major success in Hollywood.
Some of her most notable films to date include Lost In Translation , Vicky Cristina Barcelona , and Girl with a Pearl Earring .
And, of course, we can’t forget about her iconic role as Black Widow in the Marvel films.
She’s been playing the superhero since 2010, but Scarlett recently revealed to Parade that she almost didn’t get the role.
As it turns out, the role of Natasha Romanoff originally went to Emily Blunt.
You might know the British actress from The Devil Wears Prada , A Quiet Place , and Mary Poppins .
She had been set to play the former Russian spy in *Iron Man 2*, but had to drop out of the project due to scheduling conflicts with another film.
From there, Scarlett got a meeting with Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau, which she called “wonderful.”
“And I was really excited to work with him, so I said, ‘If this doesn’t work out, I’m an actor for hire, so call me anytime.’”
So when Blunt dropped out, Scarlett got the part.
Blunt was also offered the role of Peggy Carter in Captain America , but she had to turn that down, too.
But being a second choice isn’t something the actress gets upset about.
“The best call you can receive is after you are rejected for something and then you get it,” she said.
“You appreciate it more. I’ve basically made a career out of being second choice.”
“Since a very young age, I’ve been rejected constantly,” she added.
Aww! Poor, ScarJo!
Everything clearly worked out for a reason, as the actress called the role of Black Widow “life-changing.”
“When we did Iron Man, I didn’t know if the audience would like my interpretation of the character,” she said.
Whether she did or not, she was just happy to be part of the team.
“It’s the iconic hero shot,” she said about the original six Avengers—Black Widow, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and the Hulk—standing together in The Avengers .
“We were all thinking, This is crazy! because these worlds were coming together. We’re still processing how much of an impact these movies have had.”
As for the upcoming standalone Black Widow film in the Marvel franchise, fans will have to wait a while for that.
Its May 1 release has been pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s the final film for Scarlett as Black Widow and an emotional one at that, as the movie will see Natasha Romanoff in Budapest as she revisits her past.
It’s set after the events of 2016’s *Captain America: Civil War*.
“It’s a film very much about self-forgiveness and accepting decisions that were made for you.”
It’s much deeper than anything we could have done earlier,” Scarlett said.
She’ll be starring alongside Rachel Weisz, Stranger Things’ David Harbour and Florence Pugh from Little Women .
“They’re not family, because [Natasha] has no family, but they’re assigned familial roles,” Johansson said about the fellow spies.
As for a Tony Stark appearance in the film, well, Scarlett is staying mum on that.
For more of Scarlett’s interview, you can read it here .
Last Updated on April 28, 2020 by Sarah Kester
