The director of 'Black Widow' brought in a coach to help Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh bond. It didn't work.
- The director, Cate Shortland, brought in a coach to help the two "Black Widow" stars bond.
- Johansson told The Hollywood Reporter she and Pugh did "trust exercises." They didn't work.
- "We bonded over a headlock," Johansson said, referencing when the two began doing fight scenes.
It's always easier on a movie set when two actors who need to have a connection on screen genuinely are friends. So to help jump-start that bond, the "Black Widow" director Cate Shortland hired a coach to get her stars, Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh, to bond.
It didn't work.
"Cate Shortland brought in someone who could coach us through some bonding and trust exercises," Johansson revealed to The Hollywood Reporter in a recent interview. "And that was kind of goofy and fun. But the real bonding happened on the first or second day of Florence's work when we immediately slammed each other into door frames and cabinets."
As Johansson puts it: "We bonded over a headlock."
In the latest Marvel movie, in theaters and available on Disney+ on July 9, Johansson's Natasha Romanoff character must reconnect with the Soviet government-crafted family she was part of in her youth.
That "family" includes the person who was basically her little sister growing up - Yelena Belova, played by Pugh.
"The moment where I totally died was when we were doing a scene and Scarlett put her hand in my armpit," Pugh said with a laugh. "And I just died because I knew how sweaty it was. So Scarlett looked at me and went, 'That's a sweaty pit.' I was like, 'Oh, no! That's it. It's over. R.I.P. Scarlett Johansson tested my sweat.'"
"It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it," Johansson chimed in.
The connection between the two actors is apparent on screen, as they have a fun sibling-rivalry vibe throughout the movie.
As Insider's Kirsten Acuna put it in her review of the movie: "If you're not already a fan of Pugh, you will be by the end of 'Black Widow.' Yelena's a firecracker with great one-liners and jabs at her 'older sister.'"
"Black Widow" takes place after the events of "Captain America: Civil War." David Harbour and Rachel Weisz costar as the parent figures of both Johansson's and Pugh's characters.