Scarlett Johansson was 'really frustrated' when she lost out on 'Iron Man 2' and 'Gravity' roles: 'Am I doing the right job?'

• Scarlett Johansson said she was disappointed when she lost roles in "Iron Man 2" and 'Gravity".
• The Marvel star recalled how she was only getting offers to play Marilyn Monroe.

Scarlett Johansson is one of the most famous actors in the world thanks to a variety of high-profile roles, including Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The 38-year-old star has appeared in nine Marvel projects, including all four "Avengers" movies, and her own solo picture, "Black Widow," directed by Cate Shortland.

However, Johansson recently opened up about how she found it difficult to land roles that had any weight to them early on in her career after starring in "Lost in Translation."

She told Variety: "It was hard to get out of that pigeonhole. And I did films like 'He's Just Not That Into You' and movies that kind of continued that narrative. I couldn't make any headway."

The "Marriage Story" and "Jojo Rabbit" star explained that her confidence was knocked when she lost out on playing Black Widow in "Iron Man 2," as well as the lead role in 2013's "Gravity," which went to Sandra Bullock.

"I got turned down for two roles — the first was 'Iron Man 2' and then the other one was Alfonso Cuarón's 'Gravity,' I had wanted that role so much. It was sort of the straw that broke the camel's back," Johansson recalled.

The actor went on to say that at the time, every project she was offered felt "deeply unfulfilling," noting that she kept being sent scripts to play Marilyn Monroe, which only made her feel worse about the situation.

"I felt really frustrated and hopeless. Like, 'Am I doing the right job?' 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?'"

Luckily, Johansson was able to don the Black Widow costume for "Iron Man 2" when Emily Blunt dropped out due to a contract commitment with Fox, and she's since become synonymous with the role.

Fast forward to 2021 and Johansson actually took Disney to court over the "Black Widow" movie since it was released directly to streaming rather than theatrically due to the pandemic. She settled with the studio two months later.

"I was sad and disappointed," Johansson said regarding the legal battle. "But mostly sad. It was such a surreal moment because we were all isolated and just sort of emerging a little bit. I was also really heavily pregnant, too, which in a weird way was amazing timing. Suddenly, your entire attention is drawn to this miracle of life. So, I had the most wonderful distraction in the world and soon after had a beautiful baby."