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Working with Robert Redford as a preteen had a massive impact on Scarlett Johansson’s career.
The 40-year-old Marvel star was directed by and shared the screen with the late Hollywood icon in 1998’s The Horse Whisperer.
At the time, she was only 11 years old. However, during a Monday, Sept. 22 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Johansson revealed how her experience on set with Redford continues to inspire her nearly 30 years later.
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Johansson is gearing up to make her directorial debut with her new movie Eleanor the Great, which premieres on Friday, Sept. 26. She explained to host Stephen Colbert that the idea of directing a movie first came to her while she worked alongside Redford.
“It was when I was working with Bob,” she recalled, saying, “I remember seeing him on the set. He would have those intimate conversations with me, and then he would be coordinating a huge scene…”
She continued, saying, “It was like, ‘That job seems pretty interesting. I’d like to do that job someday.’ And then I spent many years being like, ‘Who would ever want that job?! You’re basically just answering questions.’ ”
The actress had only fond memories of working with Redford, whom she nicknamed Booey at the time.
“He was such a warm, kind, patient, generous, wonderful man, and he would take so much time with me every day,” she said, adding that having him direct and costar in the movie was “extraordinary.”
She continued, saying, “We have a very special relationship in the film, the characters do, where he really actually therapizes my character. And he, in real life, had that type of persona. Just so calm and kind and patient. He would talk me through the scene, every scene that we would do; he would talk me through [everything] my character had been through up until that point. It was like he had all the time to do that.”
“It was transformative for me. I had a complete understanding of, ‘Oh, this is actually a craft and something you get better at and understand more the more you put into it.’ That was all because of Bob. Mr. Redford slash Booey. So he was a wonderful man,” Johansson further noted.
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In a statement shared with PEOPLE after Redford’s death on Tuesday, Sept. 16, Johansson remembered how kind the Oscar winner was.
“Bob created an environment on set that was calm and precious; a place where actors could make discoveries. He was patient and warm and kind,” she said.
She added, “Bob, thank you for your belief in me and for your grace and guidance. You inspired so many artists, me included, to go deeper, to stay present, to push creative boundaries, and to explore further, and for that, we are forever grateful.”
Johansson’s directorial debut premiered during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
“Premiering in Cannes, I don’t know how I will be able to process the hugeness of it. It makes me nervous, but I’m excited as well,” she admitted to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the big moment. “I’m very proud of it and proud of all the work everybody did to make it.”
Eleanor the Great premieres in theaters on Friday, Sept. 26.
