When the news broke that Scarlett Johansson had been hired to star in Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin in 2013, a lot of people were caught off guard. After all, just a few years prior, David Fincher famously refused to cast the Lucy actress in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) because he felt she was too sexy for the role.
Well, it seems The Zone of Interest director saw something in Johansson that Fincher did not. Not only that, Glazer, 58, was proven right when Under the Skin was chosen as the best film of the year by multiple critics and publications.
In an industry that often overlooks talent in favor of appearance, it’s refreshing to see someone like Glazer recognizing Johansson as more than just a pretty face. While she’s unquestionably one of the most beautiful actresses working today, her performance in the 2013 sci-fi flick proves that she has the acting chops to back it up.
David Fincher Didn’t Cast Scarlett Johansson in This 2011 Flick as She Was Too ‘Sexy’?
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, directed by David Fincher in 2011, is regarded as the most well-known movie adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s 2005 novel. The film primarily focused on computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. Scarlett Johansson, one of the more exceptional actresses of her generation, might have been a great fit for Lisbeth.
Despite having tried out and nearly landing the role, Fincher ultimately decided to cast someone else. He even told Vogue (via The Hollywood Reporter) that Johansson was simply too gorgeous to play the edgy Lisbeth Salander in the big-screen adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
Fincher explained in an interview:
“We flew in people from New Zealand and Swaziland and all over the place. Look, we saw some amazing people. Scarlett Johansson was great. It was a great audition, I’m telling you. But the thing with Scarlett is, you can’t wait for her to take her clothes off.”
Strangely enough, Johansson claimed that she had not really played “sexy” roles in her career and did not consider herself to be one. She once told Mirror:
“Of course you could say the characters I played maybe in Match Point, maybe in Black Dahlia [are sexy]. But the characters I play aren’t really traditionally sexy, I don’t think. I think it’s probably a reaction to the fact that I’m curvy and confident about it, maybe. But I don’t think I was particularly sexy in Lost in Translation or particularly sexy in The Other Boleyn Girl.”
Naturally, Johansson remains a superb actress; her most well-known character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Black Widow.
Jonathan Glazer Proved David Fincher Wrong: Scarlett Johansson Is More Than Just a Pretty Face
While Scarlett Johansson might have been seen as being too pretty for David Fincher’s tastes, Jonathan Glazer saw an entirely different side of the actress. Glazer cast Johansson in his 2013 film Under the Skin, in which she assumed the role of an otherworldly being preying on men in Scotland.
The Marvel star had to go deep into a role that was emotionally demanding and complex in the 2013 flick. And she rose to the occasion, giving an unforgettable and eerie performance that delighted viewers as well as critics. Once, the director openly discussed with Vulture why he chose to cast the Break Up actress:
“But as I was moving closer towards understanding how were were going to portray this character and have her be credible, it became much clearer that she was right for this film, and it became much clearer to her, too. She talked with great clarity about it because we’d both gotten to where we needed to get to. The timing for something like this is critical…Scarlett might not have had the confidence to do it, nor have wanted to do it.”
Coming from the screenplay of Walter Campbell & Jonathan Glazer, Under the Skin received positive reviews for its direction, acting, and soundtrack. It was included in lists of the best movies of the decade and declared the best movie of the year by critics. Nevertheless, it failed miserably at the box office, making about $7 million against a $13.3 million budget.
Under the Skin is streaming on Max, while The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo can be seen on FuboTV.
