Was Hyper-Sexualized Early In My Career: Scarlett Johansson

Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson is already being considered as one of the major contenders for best actress Oscar for her performance in "Marriage Story", but she says it was tough for her to get out of being an "ingenue" and play performance-oriented parts.

During The Hollywood Reporter's Actress Roundtable, Johansson, 34, said she was "hyper-sexualised" initially in her career due to the narrative "crafted for me by probably a bunch of dudes in the industry".

"I feel when I was working in my early 20s and even in my late teens/early 20s, I felt that I sort of got, somehow, typecast. I was very hyper-sexualized. Which, I guess, at the time seemed OK to everyone. It was another time. Even though it wasn't a part of my own narrative, it was kind of crafted for me by probably a bunch of dudes in the industry. "And I guess that worked then, but it was really difficult for me to try to figure out how to get out of being an ingenue or the other woman, because it was never anything that I had intended," she said.

The actor believes the opportunities for women of every age to play different character has broadened. Johansson revealed that she even thought of quitting the film industry and pursue something that would be more fulfilling for her. "There seemed like there was nowhere to go."

But things took a turn for the actor when she got an opportunity to star on Broadway in Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge" in 2009. "It totally reset my whole way of thinking about how I could work and the different kind of opportunities that could be available to me.

"It's amazing how theatre is limitless. Even though it was terrifying, it was liberating because I actually felt that every night I had the opportunity to change the narrative," Johansson said. In "Marriage Story", Johansson stars alongside Adam Driver and Laura Dern. The film, directed by Noah Baumbauch, will premiere on Netflix on December 6.