Looking back at her experiences in early 2000s Hollywood, Scarlett Johansson describes it as a ‘tough experience’ marked by intense scrutiny of appearance and a scarcity of meaningful roles for women. Now, she finds hope in the growing array of strong, multi-dimensional characters available to female performers, a welcome departure from the restrictive stereotypes that once defined her career.

Scarlett Johansson is speaking candidly about working as a young woman in Hollywood in the early 2000s. In a recent interview, the actress detailed how the industry pulled women apart on the basis of their looks. The two-time Oscar nominee is now much happier to see women getting empowering roles, compared to when she was in her 20s.

Scarlett Johansson recalls the harsh time

The Oscar-nominated actress, who scored her breakout roles in 2003’s ‘Lost in Translation’ and ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring,’ said during a recent interview with CBS Sunday Morning that it was a “really harsh time” during that period. “It was tough. There was a lot placed on how women looked,” Johansson explained. “What was offered at that time for women my age, as far as acting roles or opportunities, was much slimmer than it is now.”

Scarlett Johansson is now happy to see women in empowering roles

More than two decades later, the Jurassic World: Rebirth star is happy to see “much more empowering roles available” for young women now compared to when she was in her 20s, as it was “Slim Pickens” during her early days. “You would get really pigeon-holed and offered the same roles. It would be like the other woman, or the side piece, the bombshell,” she recalled. “That was the archetype that was prevalent when I was that age.”

Taking a break from Hollywood helped Scarlett Johanson

Johansson found solace from typecasting in the New York theater scene. Taking a break from Hollywood also taught her to wait for “the right role” rather than give in to the pressure to “work constantly.” “It’s something that I learned over time, but it’s hard,” she explained. “Once you start working, you really feel like every job is going to be your last and that if you get opportunities to work, you have to keep taking them. Even though they might not be as varied as the jobs that really give you pleasure.” She continued. “Every actor feels like that, because it is so competitive, and I think once you do have the spotlight, you want to keep it on you. I mean, that’s the instinct I think for a young actor, or any actor.”Following her feature directorial debut with last year’s ‘Eleanor the Great,’ Johansson will next be seen reuniting with Adam Driver in James Gray’s ‘Paper Tiger.’