Scarlett Johansson has been impressing viewers with her acting skills for quite some time now. Starting her career as a child artist and gaining popularity with her role in the third part of Home Alone, she has played various roles in numerous acclaimed projects. Although she has achieved great success, this skilled actress has encountered failures and rebuffs during her career journey. In fact, she has even been considered as a second choice for certain roles.
Scarlett Johansson has had her fair share of setbacks in her acting career. She experienced rejection not once, but twice, when she tried out for two major projects in the past. One of these was the lead role in the hugely successful film Gravity, which raked in a whopping $723 million at the box office. Unfortunately, this part was given to Sandra Bullock instead. This blow almost made Johansson give up on her dream of becoming an actress. However, she didn’t let this setback get the best of her and she persisted in pursuing her passion. Eventually, she landed a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which opened up new doors for her career. Despite her early struggles, Johansson has remained candid about the challenges she has faced in the entertainment industry and how she overcame them.
In a recent interview with Variety, Johansson opened up about the struggles she faced in her career and how rejection almost made her give up. Despite her acclaimed roles in Home Alone and Lost in Translation, the actress auditioned for the part of Ryan in the hit film Gravity, only to lose it to Sandra Bullock. Johansson gave it her all during the auditions and was disappointed by the outcome.
Scarlett Johansson was on the verge of giving up her acting career after losing the role of Ryan in Gravity to Sandra Bullock. This rejection was especially disheartening for Johansson as she had a deep desire to land the part, and it caused her to question whether or not she was pursuing the right profession. During the audition process, Johansson was tasked with portraying the sensation of floating through space while sitting in a chair. Losing out on a role in such a lucrative film, which grossed $723M, was just one hurdle for the actress. She also felt inadequate about her infamous performance as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
There was almost a different actress playing Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe instead of Scarlett Johansson. Emily Blunt was the original choice for the role, causing Johansson to feel dejected. Fortunately for her, Blunt withdrew from the project, and Johansson was offered the opportunity to portray Natasha Romanoff in Iron Man 2. Even though she was not the first choice, Johansson feels that it enabled her to value her success even more. She stated that “the best call you can receive is after you are rejected for something and then you get it.”
In a conversation with Parade, Scarlett Johansson revealed how she demonstrated her value in the entertainment industry following her successful casting as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a role that earned her a million-dollar paycheck. Despite not being the initial choice for the character, Johansson made certain to capitalize on the opportunity and utilized it to steer her career in a fresh direction.
