A good coping mechanism. Scarlett Johansson revealed that her upcoming film, Marriage Story, was a project that her divorce from ex-husband Romain Dauriac helped her prepare for.
When the Avengers: Endgame star met with director Noah Baumbach to speak about working together, she was not aware of the film’s premise.
“I was actually going through a divorce. I didn’t know what we were going to talk about,” Johansson, 34, said per Variety at the 76th Venice International Film Festival on Thursday, August 29. “I just kind of blew into the room, ordered a glass of white wine and started complaining [about the split]. And he was just listening and very attentive, And then he kind of cut it short and said, ‘Funny you should mention it.’”
The Frances Ha filmmaker informed Johansson that Marriage Story would be a project she would either be intrigued by or want no part of. The Golden Globe nominee agreed to join the film, where she stars with Adam Driver, Laura Dern and Ray Liotta. The film is inspired, in part, by Baumbach’s highly publicized divorce with Jennifer Jason Leigh.
“It felt sort of fated in a way,” Johansson explained. “It was an experience to share with him and have him share with me. And it somehow came at just the right time.”
Johansson was married to Dauriac, a 37-year-old French journalist, from October 2014 to September 2017. They share 5-year-old daughter, Rose.
During their separation, a source told Us Weekly exclusively that Johansson was the one to pull the plug. “She felt like they didn’t have much in common as far as lifestyle,” the insider explained to Us at the time.
The source also noted that Johansson and Dauriac “have an amicable relationship.”
Johansson, who was also married to Ryan Reynolds from September 2008 to July 2011, is currently engaged to Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost. After his engagement to Johansson was announced in May, Jost revealed that he once feared the concept of marriage.
“I’m getting married, and it’s such a crazy thing,” Jost, 37, said during a stand-up set in July, according to Page Six. “I was so scared of marriage for so long because every time I talked to someone who just got married, or was about to get married, is like, ‘Oh my God, you got to do it … What could go wrong?’”
The funnyman then joked about the advice he has received about marriage from couples who have been married for years, adding: “Then you talk to someone who’s been married for five years, and they’re like, ‘Don’t rush into it … you have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t have kids. They’re the worst.’”
