SCARLETT JOHANSSON AND NATALIE PORTMAN: THE ANTI-BIMBOS
by Carla Hay
The actresses sound off on playing rival sisters in The Other Boleyn Girl, what it was like working with sexy costar Eric Bana and what they really think of how women are portrayed in movies.
Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman have successfully transitioned from being child actors to critically acclaimed, in-demand leading ladies. They team up for the first time in the movie The Other Boleyn Girl, based on the popular Philippa Gregory novel about King Henry VIII’s love triangle with sisters Anne and Mary Boleyn. Portman, 26, portrays older sister Anne, and Johansson, 23, plays Mary, the Boleyn sister who had an affair with the king before he moved on to Anne. The two actresses recently opened up about bringing this passionate story to the big screen.
What would it have been like if you had played each other’s roles in The Other Boleyn Girl?
Portman: I was excited to play Anne, and it felt like it was something I hadn’t tried before. Obviously, we’re both the right age for either one of the parts. We’ll take it as a compliment to each of us that we could conceivably do each one. I think it’s possible to play each other’s roles, but this is the way we decided to choose the roles. In terms of working with each other, Scarlett was a total dream partner to work with. I felt we were on the same team, and [because] she was always so present and focused and so real, I felt like I could believe everything and stay in the scene and feel supported. It was really one of my best, if not my best, acting experience opposite someone my age. It was exciting to see someone I admired up close.
Johansson: It was a real learning experience, because the sets were kind of drafty, and we were in these costumes which separate you and people don’t really want to touch you or get too close. You’re in this garb and it separates you from the guy eating the salami sandwich or loading the camera. It was so important for us to maintain the connection between shooting that we … felt we were in it together. That kind of shooting experience could feel so isolating. We were shooting on digital film, it was a new process, there were these big sets, these old castles, everybody was kind of running around and doing their things, and … it was very interesting. Being able to watch [Natalie’s] performance change … and watch her make the discoveries in the scene … It affected me even more so than any other experience I had had before. In some way, it was like one half of a whole character.
What was it like wearing those elaborate costumes?
Johansson: As modern women, we’re used to being able to move freely and not think about what we’re wearing and act very comfortably, and be very physically comfortable. Those costumes were not only uncomfortable to wear; it affected how people move around you. The costumes are so huge, and it affects your intimacy. So you feel kind of very statuesque and vulnerable in this costume, which I think was a constant reminder of the restrictions that were placed on women of this time. And certainly, it affects the way you walk and all these things.
Portman: For Anne, the costumes are so bold and sort of daring, and it definitely matched who she was as a woman too, so that was definitely helpful. As for eating, I remember Scarlett warning me, “I had a big lunch. Big mistake.” Because you take the costume off at lunch for a break and forget …
Johansson: And then you pour yourself back in.
What other historical characters would you like to play?
Johansson: I’m starting production for “Mary, Queen of Scots,” which takes place sometime later [in history than The Other Boleyn Girl] but it’s the same bloodline, of course. So I’d be playing a distant cousin of myself. I have to think about that for a minute. It’s a little bit twisted … The whole dynasty was so confusing at that time.
Portman: It seems like there were periods of time a long time ago when there were more women leaders than there are currently, but [there’s] nothing in particular I’d like to play.
How was it working with Eric Bana, who plays King Henry VIII?
Johansson: We [Natalie and I] never had any scenes with Eric together, so because of that, I never really knew what [her] relationship was with Eric, so I was able to … define my own relationship with Eric. I had no idea with what was going on with Natalie.
Portman: We knew from the script what was going to happen. He was sexy and gentle with [Mary], and rough and challenging with me [as Anne]. But I remember hearing the crew members talk about the sex scenes like, “The sex scene was really hot,” and I was like, “OK.” Eric is super-fun and funny.
Johansson: He’s a comedian, of course. He’s really involved with his family, and his family was there the whole time.
Portman: He’s like an Australian bloke. He’d be talking about his bike and his kids.
Johansson: And then all of sudden he’d become very regal and …. what was the word you used earlier?
Portman: Strapping.
Johansson: Yes, he was very strapping.
Portman: Very strapping.
What are your thoughts on acting roles being offered to women today?
Portman: I look for roles that are real people. If women can be weak or vulnerable or strong, they can be not very smart or brilliant. There isn’t one kind of woman out there, and it’s important to portray a wide variety. I’ve recently been getting frustrated with … the number of roles that are for strippers or prostitutes, or the opposite, which is like, “She’s the moral center of the film, she’s the pure one, the one that makes the man who he should be.” … To find a character who’s complicated like the women in this film is very exciting.
I love comedies so much, and any time I read a comedy, the girl is in [the] fashion [industry], she’s really into clothes and she just wants to get married, and those are not values that I care to jump the bandwagon on. I would love to do a romantic comedy, but you don’t find something where the woman has a real job, not just…
Johansson: … an administrative position.
Portman: She [could be a] lab technician. That would be exciting. But just joining the “all girls care about is fashion and boys” bandwagon is not something I care about. But I also don’t want to bitch about it, because you find the things you do when you’re lucky enough to be in a position. We both have our own production companies.
Johansson: I echo a lot of what Natalie feels about that. I never think about finding a particularly strong [woman role] … I’ve found strength in every character that I’ve played, even if it is a vulnerable person or someone who’s easily manipulated. There are strengths to every personality. I wasn’t particularly looking for a “girl power” kind of role. I think maintaining integrity for a character is … inspiring for women of all ages, and I don’t think it necessarily has to do with a “girl power” type of film.
Portman: Because sometimes that rings just as false as the “woman as victim” or the “woman as whore” stereotypes. A strong woman can be just as much of a fantasy as anything else. The complications and the variety that exists in humanity are key.