Scarlett Johansson took a break from portraying her iconic Marvel role as Black Widow to do another smaller film. The 2013 film Her saw Johansson portraying a self-aware, flirtatious artificial intelligence system that was dating Joaquin Phoenix’s character.
But when it came time to do their love scenes, Johansson confided that Phoenix had an intense and uncomfortable reaction.
Scarlett Johansson replaced another actor for ‘Her’
Johansson gave an unforgettable vocal performance in Her, only using her voice to play the disembodied A.I named Samantha. Originally, however, the Lost in Translation star wasn’t a part of the feature at all. Instead, the role belonged to lesser known actor Samantha Morton. But the film’s director Spike Jonze ended up feeling that Morton wasn’t exactly fit for the role after the movie wrapped.
“Samantha was with us on set and was amazing. It was only in post production, when we started editing, that we realized that what the character/movie needed was different from what Samantha and I had created together. So we recast and since then Scarlett has taken over that role,” Jonze once wrote to Vulture.
Jonze was a filmmaker that Johansson aspired to work with, so Her presented the perfect opportunity for the two to finally collaborate.
“I read the script because I knew that he wanted to do a work session on the character.” Johansson once said on Interview. “I like doing voice work, and I’ve also become increasingly interested in pushing different parts of performance, whether it’s a physical thing or a kind of vocal nuance, so this seemed like it would be an interesting thing to at least talk about.”
Scarlett Johansson caused Joaquin Phoenix to lose it during their sex scene
Phoenix and Johansson had an awkward moment during their sex scene in Her. As a disembodied voice, all Johansson could do was vocalize the intimacy she was having with Phoenix at the time. But this put off Phoenix greatly, who had difficulty adjusting to the take.
“I remember we came in that day,” she said in an interview on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. “I’ve become that actor that’s like ‘let’s get dirty.’ I have to, because otherwise I’ll be petrified. Joaquin comes in, we try to get through one take and he was, like, losing it. He was like ‘I can’t do it.’”
Johansson further shared that she and Phoenix were doing their take in a theater while the Black Widow star was in a box. This only made a strange situation even more bizarre between Johansson and the Oscar-winner.
“I was fine. Joaquin was not – he was so upset about it,” she added. “He left the studio, and now I’m in this box by myself and I’m like, ‘I can’t do it alone. I need him to come back.’ He needed a break; he took a break and he came back in,” she said.
Why Spike Jonze cast Scarlett Johansson in ‘Her’
Johansson brought to the table more than just her voice for Her. Jonze confided that he was impressed by how the star was able to use her voice as well. Her inflection combined with her personality convinced Jonze that hiring the Lucy star was a no-brainer.
“The timbre of her voice is beautiful. It’s the person inside the voice, it’s her intelligence, and it’s her wit. She’s the kind of person that can tease you and get right to your core but also it’s affectionate. You want to get teased by her. How do you define charisma, true charisma? She’s obviously beautiful, but you take that away and she’s just as captivating,” Jonze said in a 2013 interview with IndieWire.
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