Scarlett Johansson Opens Up About Feeling 'Hypersexualized' & 'Pigeonholed' During Her Career, Reflects on Industry Changes

Scarlett Johansson felt “pigeonholed” and “hypersexualized” during the early days of her career, but she sees positive growth in Hollywood.

The 37-year-old Black Widow star sat for an interview with Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast, and she opened up about her time in the industry.

Click inside to find out what Scarlett Johansson had to say…

“I kind of became objectified and pigeonholed in this way where I felt like I wasn’t getting offers for work for things that I wanted to do,” she said. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘I think people think I’m 40 years old.’”

Scarlett hypothesized about why this happened to her career: “Because I think everybody thought I was older and that I’d been [acting] for a long time, I got kind of pigeonholed into this weird hypersexualized thing.”

“The runway is not long on that,” she added. “So it was scary at that time. In a weird way, I was like, ‘Is this it?’”

Thankfully, she sees changes in the industry. “Now, I see younger actors that are in their 20s. It feels like they’re allowed to be all these different things,” Scarlett said. “It’s another time, too. We’re not even allowed to really pigeonhole other actors anymore, thankfully, right? People are much more dynamic.”

While you’re here, check out how Scarlett taught her MCU co-star Elizabeth Olsen to be a superhero.