At first, the performer was against both suggestions and had a bad response to them. However, she ultimately decided to don an outfit that looked like a Nazi uniform, but refused to wear any tennis attire. It’s a rather unusual decision, wouldn’t you say?
Scarlett Johansson has worn a plethora of costumes throughout her versatile career, from the revealing Black Widow outfit in the Avengers to a vintage German housewife attire. Despite the range of costumes, Johansson looked incredible in all of them. However, there was one costume that she did not feel comfortable wearing – a Nazi uniform for a movie role. On the other hand, working on Frank Miller’s neo-noir film, The Spirit, was a dream come true for Johansson. Being a huge fan of Miller’s work, the actress was overjoyed with the chance to work with such a renowned writer.
The actress was quite concerned about her role in the movie since it required her to wear a Nazi costume. As someone of Jewish descent, this made her feel uneasy and uncomfortable. She admitted feeling queasy when she tried on the outfit for the first time because wearing a swastika armband was never something she thought she would have to do. The experience of putting on the costume felt strange to her, and she even joked that her grandfather would be rolling over in his grave. Scarlett shared her thoughts about her character in The Spirit during an interview.
Although she had some reservations, the actress ultimately decided to wear the uniform for the sake of the film. This decision may seem inconsistent with her previous stance on wearing tennis whites in the movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Yet, Johansson clarified that her character, Natasha Romanoff, was supposed to sport a blonde wig and athletic clothing before arriving in a luxurious car to rendezvous with Captain America.
Scarlett Johansson refused to wear a tennis outfit for her role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, explaining that the outfit’s sexualized nature was irrelevant to her character. She used her past experience of wearing a Nazi uniform in The Spirit as an example, stating that if a costume had no relevance to the character she was portraying, she would refuse to wear it regardless of its design.