Scarlett Johansson talks heartbreak, phone-hacking incident
May Vogue cover girl Scarlett Johansson opens up to the publication on her difficult, tumultuous past year
For years, I questioned Scarlett Johansson.
My disdain was namely based on her acting skills, which I simply could not respect for a number of reasons. There was Match Point in which she was just plain awful; Then, she botched the lead character in a film based on one of my favorite books, The Nanny Diaries. When it came to her personality, I couldn't appreciate her "droll" sense of humor. And yes, I admit, there was that tinge of envy-turned-bias against the blond bombshell who dated Josh Hartnett in his glory days.
This morning I read what I believed was yet another generic profile on the actress. It actually turned out to be a rather candid and compelling interview with a star, whose tumultuous personal life was paraded before millions of fans and critics in a rather humiliating manner. It was an odd moment for me- to feel compassion for ScarJo, and beyond that, to feel empathy. By admitting vulnerability and brokenness, Johansson gave readers a reason to connect with her through the healing process.
Here are the highlights from her interview in the May issue of Vogue, which covers everything from Ryan Reynolds to the nude phone-hacking incident.
On youth:
"Am I happy I'm not 20 anymore? Yeah. Nineteen? I don't want to be that age. It's incredibly confusing."
On her relationship with Ryan Reynolds:
"We always kept our story private—how we met, our wedding, everything," she says. "It was about us."
On the pain of divorce:
"Of course it's horrible. It was devastating. It really throws you. You think that your life is going to be one way, and then, for various reasons or whatever, it doesn't work out."
"It's still there. More than anything, it's just that not having your buddy around all the time is weird. There's no rule book. I think it's just time."
On the nude photo phone-hacking incident:
"When all those photos came out, of course I go out to dinner and think, Goddamn it, these people have all seen my. . . ."
"That's terrible. You know what I mean? You can't not think that. Even if they haven't, you're paranoid."
What designer Stella McCartney thinks of her:
"We started sipping dirty martinis with some friends of hers, and she opened a debate, which was 'Are you born a killer, or are you made into a killer?' "
"I thought, Wow, she's not just a pretty blonde actor."
The issue hits stands April 24. Read the full interview, here.