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‘Is This The End Of The Road?’: Scarlett Johansson Describes Initial Rejection From Role She Later Made Iconic

David Yurman Hosts Event With Scarlett Johansson In Support Of Lower Eastside Girls Club

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Leena Nasir Entertainment Reporter
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Scarlett Johansson revealed she was initially rejected from the cast of Iron Man 2 — an iconic role that later catapulted her to superstardom.

“I got turned down for two roles — the first was ‘Iron Man 2’ and then the other one was Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Gravity,’” Johansson said during a recent interview with Variety. “I had wanted that role so much. It was sort of the straw that broke the camel’s back.” Johansson expressed how much that rejection affected her, and how badly she had hoped to clinch the role.  She had no idea at the time that her situation was about to change dramatically.

The famous actress said the initial rejection made her question the integrity of her career.

“I felt really frustrated and hopeless,” Johansson said.

“Like, ‘Am I doing the right job?’

She admitted to evaluating whether or not acting was something worth continuing.

“The work I was being offered felt deeply unfulfilling,” she said.

“I think I was offered every Marilyn Monroe script ever. I was like, ‘Is this the end of the road creatively?’” Johansson said to Variety.

She wanted to expand and perform in roles that offered more diversity than the ones she was being offered, and being rejected for Iron Man was really getting to her. Then suddenly, everything took a turn.

Fate seemed to play a hand in aiding the actress. News came that Emily Blunt had backed out of the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2 because of a contractual obligation with Fox, according to Variety. Blunt was required to fulfill her duties in “Gulliver’s Travels”

This opened the door for Johansson to step into the role. Although the actress only had a brief appearance in the film, it was a launchpad for her future work.

“That movie wasn’t going to move the needle forward in terms of how my character was written, but there was potential for what it could be — a potential for growth in subsequent films,” she told Variety.

Shortly after shooting “Iron Man 2,” Johansson dove into her Tony-winning role in Arthur Miller’s “A View From the Bridge.” (RELATED: Cillian Murphy Reveals The One Lead Role He Was Secretly ‘Desperate’ To Play)

“I had such a growth spurt doing that play, creatively and artistically,” she said.

She went on to perform in “Under the Skin” and “Her,” becoming the force in Hollywood she is today.

“Suddenly it was like, ‘I still love this job.’ And it reignited my passion for the work. I felt less anxious,” she said to Variety.