Scarlett Johansson Had to be Convinced to Wear Underwear by Director for $117M Oscar Nominated Picture: “That’s how she got me to wear them”
Scarlett Johansson starred in plenty of acclaimed films before she dipped her toes into the MCU pool as Black Widow. One of them was the 2003 romantic comedy, Lost in Translation, directed by Sofia Coppola. The movie grossed $117 million on a shoestring budget of $4 million.
Lost in Translation is known for many things, like getting nominated for an Oscar in the Best Picture category at the 76th Academy Awards, and also for showing Johansson in underwear. Turns out, the actress wasn’t too keen on wearing lingerie, but the director managed to convince her because of one thing.
Scarlett Johansson Wasn’t Interested In Showing Off Her Underwear In Sophia Coppola’s Film
In Lost in Translation, Scarlett Johansson plays Charlotte, a young graduate who is trying to figure out her life and where she belongs. During an interview on Live About with Rebecca Murray, the Black Widow star said she wasn’t comfortable doing an underwear scene in the film because she felt bloated.
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The actress said:
“I’d been eating so much Udon, I just thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m so not going to look decent in this underwear.’ I really didn’t want to wear those underwear because I was so bloated from eating all of this Udon all of the time. She was like, ‘Well you know, it’d be nice if you could wear these underwear,’ because that was what was written in the script.’”
In the film, Johansson is indeed seen in lingerie, but director Sophia Coppola had to work a bit to get her star in it. In fact, it was Coppola who had to wear the lingerie first.
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How Sophia Coppola Convinced Scarlett Johansson To Wear Lingerie In Her Film
Scarlett Johansson explained in the interview that Sophia Coppola was understanding of her feelings regarding the matter, and tried to assure the actress in her own way. The director apparently wore the lingerie herself to convince the Her star to take a look at them.
However, Coppola ultimately didn’t pressurize Johansson to do the scenes. Johansson said:
“She (Sophia Coppola) was like, ‘But I understand if you’re uncomfortable. Why don’t I try these on for you? You could see how they look. Just see how they look and if you don’t want to do it, then, of course, you don’t have to.’ I was like, ‘Alright, that’s a pretty good deal.’”
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The MCU actress then said that the director looked great in the outfit because of her lanky frame, and that’s how she came on board with that scene. Johansson said:
“Of course, Sofia is lanky and skinny, [with a] very sort of elegant body and so she looked fantastic in the underwear. That’s how she got me to wear them.”
In the end, even though it was Bill Murray who walked away with most of the accolades from the film, it’s undeniable that Scarlett Johansson’s performance was praised immensely as well. After all, it mustn’t have been easy for the young starlet to match the acting prowess of Murray, but she did it effortlessly.
