Scarlett Johansson has an incredible filmography, from small dramas like Marriage Story and Lost In Translation, to big franchise favorites like The Avengers and Jurassic World: Rebirth. She is the highest-grossing actor of all time, but now she is taking on a new and unexpected challenge, the British accent. The Oscar nominee’s latest small movie has her bravely playing an Englishwoman, and now the director Kristin Scott Thomas is explaining how she was able to cast the mega movie star in her latest film.
In a recent interview with Scott Thomas, the actress known for movies such as Mission: Impossible and The English Patient, opened up about making her directorial debut with the film My Mother's Wedding. Thomas chatted about the deeply personal story at the center, and why casting was so difficult for the film due to the semi-autobiographical nature. When she realized Scarlett Johansson would be perfect for the role of Katherine, one of the central sisters in the film, Scott Thomas decided to make a personal phone call. She explained to The Hollywood Reporter:
It took us quite a long time to find the right person to play Katherine and so with Scarlett, I just rang her up. I had a very short window, because I was doing Slow Horses, and I knew she had a very short window. So I said, and I’m terrible about this — people send me scripts and then weeks go by and it’s still sitting there, looking at you reproachfully, saying, ‘Read me! Read me!’
It seems like a personal phone call was the best way to actually get this script to Johansson, especially considering the Lucy star probably fields more scripts than any other actress in Hollywood. It’s a small film, so Johansson likely wouldn’t expect the kind of pay day she received on Black Widow, or some of her blockbuster hits. But it was a deeply intimate movie, with a unique script and a new challenge for the actress who has done just about everything. It seems like the phone call prompted her to give the script a read, and the actress was ready to take it on. Scott Thomas recalled:
I said to Scarlett, ‘Please can you read this really quickly and let me know yay or nay?’ And she rang me back the next day and said, ‘Yeah, I really want to do it.’ And after that, everything just went tick, tick, tick, and fell into place. It was incredible.
Scott Thomas must’ve gotten Johansson at the right time because the movie star has a famously busy schedule. The script must’ve really touched the actress, who hasn’t done a small film like this in quite a while. For context, My Mother's Wedding follows three sisters who return to their hometown as their mother gets married for the third time after being widowed twice. The sisters bond after they have gone on to live very different lives separately. Scott Thomas, who also wrote the film, wanted to tell a story about motherhood, and the relationships amongst siblings with shared trauma. Johansson possibly connected with the story, as she is a mother herself.
I personally am looking forward to seeing this film. Along with watching Johansson bravely take on an English accent, the movie also includes Sienna Miller and Emily Beecham as the two other sisters, both of which are incredible to watch on screen. With such a stacked cast and personal story at the center, My Mother's Wedding feels like a hidden gem, and I can’t wait to see such a big movie star challenge herself in a new way.
You can see My Mother’s Wedding now, as it’s currently playing in select theaters. Fans of Scarlett Johansson can also see her in the number one box office hit Jurassic World: Rebirth, which is now playing in cinemas nationwide. For more information on other exciting titles heading to the big screen this year, make sure to consult our 2025 movie release schedule.
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