Have you heard about Scarlett Johansson’s role in a movie depicting the creation of the popular horror film, Psycho? It seems that things got a little too intense for her when she had to act out the iconic scene from Psycho alongside acting legend Anthony Hopkins.
Scarlett Johansson’s response to Anthony Hopkins’ depiction of Alfred Hitchcock
In 2012, Scarlett Johansson played the role of the late Janet Leigh in the movie Hitchcock. The film revolves around Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Psycho and features Anthony Hopkins as the legendary director. Hopkins and Johansson worked together in a particular scene where Hitchcock rehearses Psycho’s iconic shower sequence with the actress. Johansson had to gather all her courage to pull off the scene with Hopkins.
In an interview with V Magazine (via Daily Actor), Johansson shared that she had to summon her courage and face Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock in the shower scene where he holds a 12-inch kitchen knife. Despite Hopkins being a “pussycat,” Johansson couldn’t help but feel terrified, perhaps due to watching Silence of the Lambs multiple times as a child. She admitted to not needing much preparation for the scene because of her fear. The rest of the crew was also concerned about the scene, albeit for different reasons.
Scarlett Johansson had a meeting with Sacha Gervais, the director of Hitchcock, to discuss whether she would take on the role. During the meeting, Johansson took the opportunity to rehearse with Tony Hopkins, who was also present at the time. They were working on the peephole scene, and Johansson showed an interest in the scene and suggested some changes. Gervais was impressed with her acting skills and called her within a week to offer her the role. Before accepting the role, Johansson wanted Jamie Lee Curtis’ blessing as she was portraying her mother, Janet Leigh. Curtis was gracious and sent Johansson lovely photographs and stories. Curtis felt Johansson did a respectable job portraying her mother in the movie.
