20Q: Scarlett Johansson

The 20-year-old with the impressive career--and great face--fesses up about what makes a lovely ass and why she'd like to have sex in the backseat of a car

Q1

[Q] Playboy: For a 20-year-old you've had your share of memorable roles--in The Horse Whisperer, Ghost World, even The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie--but most moviegoers are fixated on Lost in Translation. Rather than disclosing what Bill Murray whispered in your ear at the end of that film, which you've never revealed, tell us what you wish he'd said.

[A] Johansson: Who said he whispered anything at all? I wish he'd whispered, "You're wrapped." [laughs] It'd probably be good to say he said, "I've just crapped my pants," but most of the time I just tell people they don't really want to know. Of course, they say, "I do! I do!" but I say, "Well, it doesn't matter, because there's just no telling." This much I'll tell you: Nothing was scripted. Bill just came up with whatever he thought was appropriate.

Q2

[Q] Playboy: If we had to guess what most male moviegoers were whispering during the opening shot of Lost in Translation--as they gazed at you in your semitrans-parent panties--it would be "Wow!" Were you comfortable doing it?

[A] Johansson: Oh, that's nice. I guess you could have said, "Damn! That girl needs to do some squats." When I first saw it I silently thanked our director of photography, Lance Acord. I'd told him that if I looked like I had any lumps or bumps he'd never work in this town again. So good job, Lance. It doesn't look like my ass; it looks like a really lovely ass.

I told Sofia Coppola, the director, that I didn't want to wear sheer underwear. She said, "Okay, we'll find some other kind of underwear--but I think it would look really great." I was like, "Ugh!" So she said, "Look, I'll put on the sheer underwear and lie on the bed. If you think it looks strange, we'll make it some other kind of underwear." She put them on and looked fantastic, of course--Sofia has a lovely body. I also thought, Wow, if my ass looks like her ass, then I'll be doing 20Q in Playboy before long.

Q3

[Q] Playboy: How long should a man stare at a beautiful woman? At what age is a man too old to ogle you?

[A] Johansson: Once you're old enough to be my father. I can't imagine being my dad's age and ogling a 20-year-old boy. There are exceptions to every rule, of course, so I would never really discourage someone from looking at me. You're talking to someone who has a horrible staring problem herself. I stare at people all the time, especially on the subway. Also in their cars, in the gym, when I eat alone in restaurants. What can I say? I like to watch people. It's not even that I enjoy it. I just can't help watching what people do when they don't know they're being watched. I think about the person, their mannerisms, what they're wearing, who they're talking to, and I wonder if they like being with that person. Before long I forget I'm staring.

Q4

[Q] Playboy: You're in Woody Allen's next film, Match Point. Describe what goes through your head when you get a call from Woody.

[A] Johansson: It's pretty fucking cool. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked. It came totally out of the blue. Woody is one of the directors I really wanted to work with. They were a couple of weeks from shooting, and an actress who was supposed to play the role couldn't do it, so they called me. It was so surreal, and the experience was better than I'd imagined. I adore Woody. Actually, he probably wouldn't want me to say that. So let me say this, and it has to go in the interview: He is an ogre and a beast, and he was horrible to us. He's a screamer, that Woody. Oh yeah, he's a screamer, [laughs] He's wonderful.

Q5

[Q] Playboy: You're not known for doing action films. What drew you to Michael Bay's The Island?

(continued on page 154) Scarlett Johansson (continued from page 81)

[A] Johansson: It's like a good Twilight Zone episode. Everything seems normal until the last five minutes, and then you're like, "Oh my God!" People have been saying it's Logan's Run meets The Matrix meets Brave New World. It's basically about clones, people who are being harvested for body parts. Functioning people living in a community find out their purpose and escape. They have a crazy chase through the Arizona desert and then through downtown L.A. The audience doesn't really know what's going on until well into the film, which I find to be exciting and is why I decided to do the movie. When I was reading the script I kept thinking, What's going to happen? I love that.

Q6

[Q] Playboy: What persistent rumor about you would you now like to categorically deny?

[A] Johansson: There are several. First, that I'll date only men over 30 years old, which is not true and never was. I never said that. I guess people make the assumption because in the movies I've made I've had relationships with older men, sexual and not. Also a tabloid said I had sex with a certain actor in a hotel elevator and that I confirmed it by making a sarcastic comment to a magazine about it. I said, "Well, apparently we were in this elevator, and it was really steamy and sexy--which I think is very unsanitary." They took out the word apparently. I felt horrible. It was awful.

Q7

[Q] Playboy: That said, what is on your list of fantasy places to have sex?

[A] Johansson: If people are around but don't know we're there, I'm not the kind of person who will say, "Let's have sex." I'm not an exhibitionist. That doesn't excite me. I do think having sex in a car is sexy, but I don't know that it's a fantasy. If I were in a really raunchy frame of mind and thinking of doing something crazy and kinky and sexy, the backseat would be it. [laughs] I mean, the front seat is kind of uncomfortable, isn't it? You can lean it back, but I think the backseat probably has more room. It's also more private. I'm not into being caught.

Q8

[Q] Playboy: Why are you squirming in your seat right now?

[A] Johansson: Allergies. I just came from the doctor, who stuck pins in a grid all over my back. Now it's so itchy! I just want to die. They have a tray with 60 different vials. They stick you with these teeny irritating tickly things, in a grid six across and 10 down, mark which is which, and whatever reacts--turns red or itchy or has a hive--is what you're allergic to. I knew right away it was bad news. Just as the woman was about to leave I said, "Oh, it's starting to itch." Then I had to wait 20 minutes to get the full effect. And I couldn't scratch. I was going nuts.

Q9

[Q] Playboy: You've been cast in Mission: Impossible III. What had you imagined about Tom Cruise that was immediately and obviously true upon meeting him?

[A] Johansson: That he would be such a charismatic person. I instantly thought, Wow, he's a movie star! Stardust sprinkles out of him when he walks. I also discovered that he softballs everybody he works with. He's friendly and remembers everybody's name. He's enthusiastic. And I think he's a fantastic actor. I loved him in Eyes Wide Shut, Magnolia, Risky Business, Rain Man and, of course, Jerry Maguire. I love to watch Tom. I can see his thought process when he's working. I love that.

Q10

[Q] Playboy: What's more important, good work or a long career?

[A] Johansson: Can't I have both? Good work is more important to me. What's a long career if you're not happy with your work? You work and work and never feel you're accomplishing anything. That's a Twilight Zone episode. Besides, good work usually means a long career. I don't have job security. I don't know what I'd do if I went through a period like John Travolta did, in which no one was interested in me--he's such a good actor, and I loved working with him. I'd have to find another career. I'd probably be either a florist or an Egyptologist, because I'm fascinated with ancient Egypt. Maybe I'd grow orchids in Egypt.

Q11

[Q] Playboy: What comics did you read to prepare for bringing a comic-book character to life in Ghost World, your 2000 movie based on the Daniel Clowes comic?

[A] Johansson: The only comic books I'd ever read were Ren & Stimpy and Archie. I always felt bad for Betty. Betty was nice and pretty. Betty was hot. She wanted Archie. Archie wanted Veronica. Veronica's pretty mean. Reggie also wanted Veronica. Jughead probably wanted Reggie; that's why he didn't want to be with the skinny Olive Oyl--y one, Big Ethel. Who wanted Betty?

Q12

[Q] Playboy: How hard do you have to work to get ready to go out in public?

[A] Johansson: I did a film called A Good Woman, and there's a great line in it: "Women are similar to sausages: You never want to see the preparation of either."

Q13

[Q] Playboy: When you travel between your homes in New York and Los Angeles, do you pack a suitcase or keep clothes at both places?

[A] Johansson: I carry a suitcase. I like to pack. I've been packing for 12 years. I can pack really fast and really efficiently. I'm into rolling. An ex-boyfriend of mine taught me the technique. For that and a few other things I'll be forever grateful to him. You can fit 12 pairs of pants in a carry-on if you roll.

Q14

[Q] Playboy: What's the best swag bag you've ever received at a celebrity function?

[A] Johansson: Some of the best gift bags I've gotten were at the Vanity Fair Hollywood shoots. I did two with all women, and the (concluded on page 157) Scarlett Johansson (continued from page 154) items were very feminine: lingerie, sexy things, sweet nightshirts, perfumes and lotions, nail polishes, private stuff. In an Oscar bag you get a whole bunch of stuff you have to sift through, like, "Oh, a Dirt Devil! A trip to Hawaii! And here's a phone I'll never use!" I prefer more intimate packages. At the Vanity Fair shoots the bags are designed specifically for each recipient. At least I think so. Elle Macpherson did a lingerie line and put in a bunch of lingerie from her collection along with a note: "These are perfect for blank-sized breasts."

Q15

[Q] Playboy: If and when you finally show your "blank-sized breasts" in a movie, will you make the moviemakers pay big-time as many actresses do?

[A] Johansson: Hmm. Not necessarily. Halle Berry didn't in Monster's Ball. It would just have to be the right film, and the right film wouldn't necessarily have a $120 million budget.

Q16

[Q] Playboy: Many actresses and probably a few actors these days are shocked to find nude pictures of themselves--real or fake--popping up all over the web. As a member of die Internet generation, what would you say to an older peer who just got a big, big surprise?

[A] Johansson: If it's a fake I'd say, "Look, it's not you. It's your head pasted onto someone's body." It's not something I'd like to have happen to me, no matter how much I'd understand. What do you say--"Find the bastards and sue"? Similarly, just because I'm 20 years old doesn't mean I'd be blasé if pictures of me sunbathing naked somewhere I thought was private came out on the Internet and people viewed them 5 billion times. I'd be mortified, but there's nothing I could do. Sometimes, of course, the pictures are real, clips from a nude scene in a movie. When a director says to me, "You're going to take off all your clothes and writhe around in this bed," I already expect some people to rewind and fast-forward and rewind and fast-forward through the scene.

Q17

[Q] Playboy: Give us a short course on the young actor and actress of your generation.

[A] Johansson: The actor probably has a bit of a scruffy beard from not working. He seems maybe slightly effeminate. I don't know why--ask the studio heads. You look back to the 1950s and there are all these very masculine actors. Now if you have a role for a masculine young man it's hard to cast. He drives some kind of SUV and has a couple of dogs he likes to go hiking with. He's on a macrobiotic diet, and he's worried about getting gray hair. He's had a girlfriend for a couple of years. She's not an actress. And he's never worn a tuxedo.

The actress is probably blonde. She's on a vegan diet but also likes to eat pork buns when they're available. Of course, nobody can be looking. She's probably addicted to NyQuil for sleeping and doesn't have any pets. She's co-dependent with her movie star boyfriend and has a lot of expensive clothing, none of which she's purchased.

Q18

[Q] Playboy: Describe your sleep mask and bedroom slippers.

[A] Johansson: How did you know I wear a sleep mask? It's delightful. I never thought I would wear a sleep mask, but I've had one for at least a year. I was staying in a hotel room so bright that the sun penetrated the blinds. I bought a sleep mask at a drugstore and never slept better. I've upgraded to a classier one: satin on one side, cashmere on the other and kind of a beige-orange color. If anyone caught me in it, I wonder if they'd try to do really dirty things to me or just laugh and think, Oh, you loser, and be so turned off. I don't care. I'd wear it anyway. I'd be really upset if I lost it.

I don't have bedroom slippers. I like to have my feet on the floor.

Q19

[Q] Playboy: From all the movies you've made, which scene do you wish had been left on the cutting room floor?

[A] Johansson: There's a scene in The Horse Whisperer that I think I'm horrible in. My character has just met Bob Redford's character for die first time. He says that if I want the horse to recover, I have to participate. My line is "I can't." He says, "Why not?" I have this line that's like "Isn't it obvious?" It comes out so horribly. The scene pains me every time I see it. Then he walks away, and I say, "What do I have to do?" It's just atrocious.

Q20

[Q] Playboy: If Bill Murray were the horse whisperer, what would he whisper in the horse's ear?

[A] Johansson: Maybe "You smell like shit."