Scarlett Johansson weighs in on being 'objectified' as a young actress in Hollywood

Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has recently dished out details on how she’s been “objectified” and “pigeonholed” early on in her acting career.

In a new interview on Dax Shepard's podcast Armchair Expert, the Avengers: Endgame star recalled being “hypersexualised” from a young age.

“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,” revealed Scarlett.

The Black Widow actress stated that she began to herself that people might think “I am 40 years old”.

“It somehow stopped being something that was desirable and something that I was fighting against,” explained Lucy star

Scarlett mentioned that she felt “pigeonholed” after starring alongside Bill Murray in Lost in Translation.

“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 hypersexualised thing. I felt like my career was over,” noted Iron Man 2 actress, who was still a teenager at the time and played five years her senior in the movie.

“It was like, ‘That's the kind of career you have, these are the roles you’ve played.’ And I was like, ‘This is it?’” stated mom-of-two.

Scarlett noted, “So it was scary at that time. In a weird way, I was like, is this it? I attributed a lot of that to the fact that people thought I was much, much older than I was.

Nonetheless, the Don Jon actress shared that things have “changed a lot” for young actresses these days in Hollywood.

“Now, I see younger actors that are in their 20s. It feels like they're allowed to be all these different things. It's another time, too. We're even allowed to really pigeonhole other actors anymore, thankfully, right? People are much more dynamic,” she elaborated.

Scarlett believed that #MeToo movement had prevented men in power from taking advantage of young actresses in the industry, however, there’s still a long way to go.

“It's kind of changed but we live in a patriarchy and I feel like there's a fundamental reality of the woman's condition that will always be there,” she mentioned, saying, “it’s so baked into our culture and society that it’s hard for me to imagine that ever being not an element.”

Scarlett is however hopeful for future generations of women, adding, “I have come to this realisation that it's important to understand progress and change when it's really meaningful. It's not finite.”