Scarlett Johansson Reflects on Ryan Reynolds, Divorce, Casting Controversies and More in ‘Vanity Fair’: 5 Revelations

Credit: Collier Schorr

Scarlett Johansson Reflects on Ryan Reynolds, Divorce, Casting Controversies and More in ‘Vanity Fair’: 5 Revelations

Controversial statements, divorce, coparenting, oh my! Scarlett Johansson reflected on her life in the public eye in her Vanity Fair cover story. “I’ve been working for, I don’t know, 25 years or something,” the 35-year-old actress began while chatting with the magazine. “Over that time, my feelings towards work, it’s ebbed and flowed. At times I felt like I couldn’t get anything that was substantial or that felt challenging to me.” Johansson’s latest role in the movie Marriage Story, which also stars Adam Driver, sparked a conversation about the Avengers star’s past relationships. Johansson was married to Ryan Reynolds from 2008 to 2011. (The Proposal star married Blake Lively, with whom he shares three kids, a year after his divorce from Johansson was finalized.) After a whirlwind romance with Sean Penn, Johansson started seeing journalist Romain Dauriac. The twosome, who share 5-year-old daughter Rose, tied the knot in 2014. They split after less than three years of marriage. [jwplayer DyQRxTGR-l3ahXupL] “I had some kind of shared experience with the character, or with any person going through a divorce, really,” Johansson told Vanity Fair. “I understood the bittersweetness of it somehow, in a way. All those kind of in-between feelings that the character has. I understood them because I had gone through them myself.” But she points out that even in terms of her own personal experience of divorce, she drew just as much, or more, on memories of her parents’ struggles than her own.” While Johansson has been divorced twice, she cited her role as a mother as more influential on her role as Nicole in Marriage Story. “That was actually more valuable to me than the experience of going through a divorce. Because I never actually went through the kind of divorce that’s portrayed in the film,” she explained. “You know, understanding what it is to coparent —that’s a very specific thing. It’s hard to raise a child with someone you’re no longer with. It’s hard. It’s not probably how it’s ‘supposed to be’ — in quotes — or whatever…. But, you know, I think my ex and I do it as well as we can. You have to prioritize your child and not put yourself in the middle. It has its challenges.” Johansson has since moved on with Colin Jost. The Saturday Night Live star popped the question in May after two years of dating. Scroll through for five revelations from the cover story:

Credit: Collier Schorr

Scarlett Johansson Reflects on Ryan Reynolds, Divorce, Casting Controversies and More in ‘Vanity Fair’: 5 Revelations

Controversial statements, divorce, coparenting, oh my! Scarlett Johansson reflected on her life in the public eye in her Vanity Fair cover story. “I’ve been working for, I don’t know, 25 years or something,” the 35-year-old actress began while chatting with the magazine. “Over that time, my feelings towards work, it’s ebbed and flowed. At times I felt like I couldn’t get anything that was substantial or that felt challenging to me.” Johansson’s latest role in the movie Marriage Story, which also stars Adam Driver, sparked a conversation about the Avengers star’s past relationships. Johansson was married to Ryan Reynolds from 2008 to 2011. (The Proposal star married Blake Lively, with whom he shares three kids, a year after his divorce from Johansson was finalized.) After a whirlwind romance with Sean Penn, Johansson started seeing journalist Romain Dauriac. The twosome, who share 5-year-old daughter Rose, tied the knot in 2014. They split after less than three years of marriage. [jwplayer DyQRxTGR-l3ahXupL] “I had some kind of shared experience with the character, or with any person going through a divorce, really,” Johansson told Vanity Fair. “I understood the bittersweetness of it somehow, in a way. All those kind of in-between feelings that the character has. I understood them because I had gone through them myself.” But she points out that even in terms of her own personal experience of divorce, she drew just as much, or more, on memories of her parents’ struggles than her own.” While Johansson has been divorced twice, she cited her role as a mother as more influential on her role as Nicole in Marriage Story. “That was actually more valuable to me than the experience of going through a divorce. Because I never actually went through the kind of divorce that’s portrayed in the film,” she explained. “You know, understanding what it is to coparent —that’s a very specific thing. It’s hard to raise a child with someone you’re no longer with. It’s hard. It’s not probably how it’s ‘supposed to be’ — in quotes — or whatever…. But, you know, I think my ex and I do it as well as we can. You have to prioritize your child and not put yourself in the middle. It has its challenges.” Johansson has since moved on with Colin Jost. The Saturday Night Live star popped the question in May after two years of dating. Scroll through for five revelations from the cover story:

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On Her Marriage to Ryan Reynolds

“The first time I got married I was 23 years old,” Johansson said, referring to the Deadpool actor. “I didn’t really have an understanding of marriage. Maybe I kind of romanticized it, I think, in a way. It’s a different part of my life now. I feel like I’m in a place in my life, I feel I’m able to make more active choices. I’m more present, I think, than I’ve been before.”

Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

On Romain Dauriac Divorce

“The idea of building a family, making a family, and having that work, I like that idea. I think that would be wonderful,” she told the magazine. “I’ve always wanted that. I wanted that also in my marriage to my daughter’s father as well. It just wasn’t the right person.” 

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On the 'Rub & Tug' Casting Backlash

Johansson came under fire in July 2018 after she was cast as a transgender man in the film Rub & Tug. While she eventually exited the role, Johansson’s initial reaction was to put out a statement citing other actors/actress who have portrayed transgender characters: “Tell them that they can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman’s reps for comment.”

While chatting with Vanity Fair, Johansson admitted she “mishandled” the situation. 

“I was not sensitive, my initial reaction to it. I wasn’t totally aware of how the trans community felt about those three actors playing — and how they felt in general about cis actors playing — transgender people,” she said. “I wasn’t aware of that conversation — I was uneducated. So I learned a lot through that process. I misjudged that…. It was a hard time. It was like a whirlwind. I felt terribly about it. To feel like you’re kind of tone-deaf to something is not a good feeling.”

Credit: Bbc Films/Focus Features/Kobal/Shutterstock

On the Woody Allen Backlash

Johansson has also made headlines for her friendship and working relationship with Woody Allen, who has been accused of sexual abuse.

“I’m not a politician, and I can’t lie about the way I feel about things,” she told the magazine. “I don’t have that. It’s just not a part of my personality. I don’t want to have to edit myself, or temper what I think or say. I can’t live that way. It’s just not me. And also I think that when you have that kind of integrity, it’s going to probably rub people, some people, the wrong way. And that’s kind of par for the course, I guess.”

She concluded that her relationship with Allen is “my experience.” 

“I don’t know any more than any other person knows. I only have a close proximity with Woody … he’s a friend of mine. But I have no other insight other than my relationship with him,” she said. “I do understand how that is triggering for some people. But just because I believe my friend does not mean that I don’t support women, believe women. I think you have to take it on a case-by-case basis. You can’t have this blanket statement — I don’t believe that. But that’s my personal belief. That’s how I feel.”

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On How Motherhood Changed Her

“Now I have a child … not that I’m not career-driven now, but I guess I’ve been driven by other sides of my career in the past,” she explained. “Maybe I was more concerned with a certain kind of visibility or exposure. And now I’m not as worried about that stuff. I’m in a good phase in my career where I’m able to actually wait for stuff that’s right.”