Scarlett Johansson On Role Models & “Horrible” Workouts

Excuse us for harping, but we're still all excited about Scarlett Johansson's big baby news. We turn to mush whenever a favorite star welcomes a new addition, of course, but we've been especially jazzed for ScarJo. One would think she might slow things down a bit now that she's got a baby on board, but it seems the actress doesn't have any plans to take time off. Not only is she hitting the press trail for the soon-to-be-released Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but she's also started filming Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Let's just say that while she's certainly dealing with a hectic schedule, Johansson's also getting very up close and personal with her Marvel character Natasha Romanoff (a.k.a. Black Widow). Luckily for her, she loves playing the ass-kicking superhero — especially since she gets to cater to adoring — and adorable — fans.

"One of the things that's attractive to me about the character is that she uses her feminine wiles as part of the job, but she doesn't rely on sexuality or physical appeal to get the job done," Johansson said at a press conference for Winter Soldier. "She's extremely smart, the thinks on her feet, she's a leader...those are all qualities that I think are wonderful to celebrate for young women. Of course it's also really rad for me to have my friends' kids look up to that character and dress up like her for Halloween and play with the boys and be rough."

Playing rough is something that Johansson is very familiar with. This is the actress' third time suiting up as Black Widow, and the stunts are as intense as ever. It's hard enough for viewers to simply keep up with the number of fight scenes that characters endure, to say nothing of being the one doing the fighting. Playing a superhero requires ScarJo to be in tip-top shape, but she's no happier about constant workouts or early-morning gym visits than the rest of us.

"I had just come off of doing a Broadway run [during filming for The Winter Soldier], which is pretty much the most physically challenging thing you can do," she said. "So, everything seemed like a piece of cake...and I think I was in pretty solid shape. And then, you know, it's just maintaining it — boring! You get up at 5, go to the gym — you know, all that stuff that's horrible. Train like a dude and then eat a bunch of lettuce and whatever. Nothing fancy."

It may not have been fancy, but whatever ScarJo was doing certainly worked. To say she brought it with this movie would be an understatement — the second dose of Captain America stepped up its game big time. Black Widow even got to come out of her shell a bit and show us the real Natasha, which Johansson played perfectly.

"I think this is the first time we've really gotten to see Natasha," she said. "You know, she's a woman and she has her own kind of reality outside of the suit...the plot unfolds and we find Natasha questioning her own identity. She was a pretty strong person, but she realizes she doesn't really know who she is. She's been sort of a hired hand her entire professional life and now...there's this huge moment of self-discovery."

It's easy to see the parallels between Black Widow's pitfalls and the perils of Hollywood. But, ScarJo seems set on maintaining some normalcy within the fray. One reporter questioned the actress about being able to trust people in her circle, and she gave a surprisingly lighthearted answer. "I trust no one — I only trust who Sam Jackson trusts, that's my barometer right there," she said with a laugh, referring to her Winter Soldier costar. "I don't think people have to prove themselves in order for me to trust them; I think I'm mostly trusting by nature. I guess I would wait for people to prove me wrong and then I don't trust them after that — once that happens, you're out of the circle."