Exclusive: Scarlett Johansson may kick serious ass in the Captain America film series but she admits she would do almost anything to get out of the gruelling gym sessions her role requires.
The 29-year-old screen siren is back in The Winter Soldier as formidable spy Natasha Romanoff but says she wished preparing for the part was as easy as her recent turn as a phone app’s voice in Spike Jonze’s sci-fi romance Her.
‘Is there another character from my film past I would like to introduce to a Captain America film? If I could do the voice from Her it would avoid the early morning gym hours,’ she said at the British premiere for the action movie at Vue Westfield in Shepherd’s Bush.
And it seems the star is permanently scarred by her previous appearances as the feisty SHIELD agent, who she first played in Iron Man 2.
‘I am forever wounded. I have old injuries from the Iron Man days and I keep recurring them. It’s part of the process, but I like to be able to do as much of the stunt work as possible.’
However, Johansson reveals she does get a thrill out of playing the ‘Black Widow’ in the Marvel movie and she can identify more with the softer side to her persona, as opposed to her murky, mercenary past.
‘As with any character you play you have to at least be sympathetic to what you play. Even if it’s a villainous character you have to have some likeability to you. This character has this unexpected humility to her and a soft underbelly. And I have that same softness,’ she giggled.
And fans of Romanoff who want to know how she turned from killer-for-hire to good guy will be excited to hear her background is going to be explored further in another Marvel blockbuster.
‘You’ll get more of Widow’s backstory in Avengers 2,’ she said: ‘She definitely comes from a really dark past.’
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is in cinemas from Wednesday.
