Celebrity PROFILES
Scarlett Johansson
To capture a side of the iconic and boundlessly talented Scarlett Johansson that is rarely seen, I wanted to ask her questions people usually don’t, like her thoughts on string theory. The film she was promoting, Under the Skin (directed by Jonathan Glazer who would go on to do the psychologically penetrating The Zone of Interest), dealt with questions of existence, so it fit into the world of her character and made for a natural bridge to discuss how she thinks about the world’s big questions.
Willem Dafoe
To step inside legend Willem Dafoe’s acting process, we talked about setting traps, in drama and in the Tasmanian forests where he filmed The Hunter. It made sense then to structure the profile around the challenges the wild presented. With a background in experimental theater, taking risks is in his DNA, so I weaved this sense of adventure to flow throughout the piece.
Charlotte Gainsbourg
To understand multi-hyphenate Charlotte Gainsbourg’s fearless inhabitation of troubled characters requires an equally bold approach. Through a frank discussion of the nature of compulsion, we unearth the psychology beneath the sensational to reveal a humanity that still aches to be recognized. Tying the masochism of the character to her acting process, we explore the difference between extremes that hold us back and those that propel us forward.