Scarlett Johansson is “out of her element” with awards season buzz because she hasn’t been touted as a contender for more than 10 years.
The Avengers: Endgame stars has been earning rave reviews for her performance alongside Adam Driver in Noah Baumbach’s divorce drama Marriage Story, while Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit has also been gaining momentum since its film festival debut.
But Johansson, who hasn’t been part of the awards season buzz since she was nominated for a Golden Globe for 2005’s Match Point, has now admitted the attention feels surreal to her.
"I haven't really been involved in the mix of awards season for a long time, so I'm not sure how I feel exactly. Maybe a little out of my element?" she told The Hollywood Reporter. "I am excited to celebrate both of these films with Noah and Taika. I feel like both movies are the movies that either filmmaker and I set out to make, and that's an incredibly rare thing. When you work hard on something with someone for such a long time, it feels good to have that work acknowledged."
The 34-year-old, who has previously won a BAFTA for Lost in Translation, also shared that she was relieved Jojo Rabbit, a satire starring Waititi as a parody of Adolf Hitler, even got released after its studio, Fox Searchlight, was acquired by Disney earlier this year.
“Searchlight's made quite a lot of subversive films. It's harder and harder to try to find a home for something that's more off-colour or subversive and push the limit,” the star explained. “I thought, 'There's no way Disney would bring (Jojo) out. ... This doesn't belong to that (Disney) family.'
“Ultimately when Jojo Rabbit went over (to Disney), it didn't make any difference, which was cool. Because I was worried that maybe it would."
Marriage Story will stream on Netflix after a limited cinema release, while Jojo Rabbit hits cinemas in October.
