Scarlett Johnasson recently chatted with the Times of London to promote Jurassic World: Rebirth, a name I still hate. But whatever – Scarlett is in a dinosaur movie, which has been her dream for decades, ever since she saw Jurassic Park. Scarlett spoke to the Times about her AI concerns and how she had a hard time finding roles beyond the “sex symbol” trope. Some highlights:

Her concerns about AI: “Well, I just don’t believe the work I do can be done by AI. I don’t believe the soulfulness of a performance can be replicated.” But some of it, say in special effects, must be useful? “Well, as a tool for film-making it has evolved and I don’t really believe that audiences are concerned with that. Perhaps I’m wrong, but as a tool for creatives who don’t see it as a replacement for anything, I don’t think AI is threatening. But when it threatens to blur the line between truth and reality? That’s a threat. The bigger picture — about how we human beings, with fragile egos, can continue to have the trust that we have to have in one another, to continue as a society. It’s a moral compass. We move around the world every day just knowing we have to trust in some basic reality that we all agree on. AI threatens the foundation of that, and that to me is very haunting.”

Scarlett was “deeply unfulfilled” by playing “sexy” characters: “You know, it’s a different time for young women. The messaging is different — there are many more role models, women are visible in powerful positions and the opportunities I have had to play women who don’t have to just be one thing or another have increased. But when I was younger, a lot of the roles I was offered, or I went for, had their ambitions or character arcs revolving around their own desirability, or the male gaze, or a male-centred story. That is less frequent, though — something has shifted.”

She waited for roles which weren’t objectifying or centering men: “You know, I just waited. I had to become comfortable with the idea that it could take some time. Which is hard when you’re a young actor, but at that time I didn’t have any children. So my responsibility then was just to be productive, trying to maintain the momentum of my career and wait for things that felt right. And that is hard because there is an existential angst that comes with waiting, but I had to allow space for the creative process to do its thing. It was nerve-racking. I’m in a business where you feel like, at any moment, you’ll become irrelevant. But I think it pays off — I know it does.”

She dreams of future acting roles: “There are just so many things that I imagine doing. I’d love to do more theatre, a film with a musical element. A horror.” But before that, dinosaurs. It must be nice to make something that her kids can see her in? She laughs. “I don’t know. This is pretty brutal. It might be a while…”

The Hollywood stars she idolized: When Johansson was a child she looked up to Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock, women carrying the biggest movies of the day, the sort she would go on to make herself. “And I also loved Harrison Ford,” she says, laughing. “He seems so shy and reserved — a private person. But he is also so photogenic that his shyness is revealed through a little twinkle in his eye — his vulnerability shines through. Some people just have that star quality.”

[From The Times]

Harrison Ford really does have “it.” Star quality, an X factor, that watchable quality. Scarlett has it too – you could see from a young age that she had “it.” But like many would-be movie stars of her generation, she fought it and/or the material wasn’t there anymore. Think of how many projects were built around Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock back in the day? That kind of energy just doesn’t exist anymore. It’s interesting that she wants to be in a horror movie? Damn, someone should get on that. She has “final girl” written all over her.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Prada Press.