What did Scarlett Johansson say about working with Bill Murray? Howard Stern interview explored as actress addresses misconduct allegations

Scarlett Johansson is opening up about working with one of her most well-known co-stars, Bill Murray. Johansson, who appeared on Vanity Fair’s June cover issue, addressed Murray’s 2022 misconduct allegations for the very first time.

Johansson and Murray came together in 2002 for filming Sofia Coppola’s landmark second film, Lost in Translation. The shooting for the film took place in Tokyo, and the movie featured Johansson and Murray as two lonely misfits who form an unlikely bond while exploring the fast-paced city.

While speaking to Vanity Fair, Johansson looked back at the filming of the movie, which took place when she was 17 years old, and reminisced about the then 52-year-old Murray’s emotional state. She said,

“Bill was in a hard place. Everybody was on tenterhooks around him, including our director and the full crew, because he was dealing with his…stuff.”

In 2022, when film sets were still following Covid-related protocols, Bill Murray was accused of misconduct on the set of the shelved film, Being Mortal. As per People Magazine, Murray reportedly paid a $100,000 settlement to the female crew member who made the accusations.

Scarlett Johansson thinks that Murray has changed as a result of his experiences. She and Murray came together recently while working for the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live’s 50th-anniversary special. Johansson revealed to Vanity Fair that looking at the older actor interacting warmly with the crew made her rethink her experience of working with Murray. She said,

“He’s such a different person now. I think life has humbled him.”

Directly addressing Murray’s misconduct allegations, Johansson agreed that that was what changed the actor. She said,

“Certainly, yes—that was really bad…But I also know COVID was a hard thing for him. Life—all these things have led up to him being held accountable for that kind of behavior.”

Scarlett Johansson affirmed, however, the positivity associated with change. She said,

“But you know what? How wonderful that people can change.”

This is not the first time Scarlett Johansson has spoken about being on set with Bill Murray

Back in 2017, Scarlett Johansson appeared on The Howard Stern Show and delved into the details of working on the set of Lost in Translation.

While admitting that she was thrilled to be working with an actor of such a stature as Bill Murray, Johansson said,

“I was so excited to work with him, and you know, I think, it was hard because we were, you know, it was such a strange, like, space that we were in.”

While speaking to Stern, she emphasised that the process was difficult for her. She added,

“We made that film in, I don’t know, something crazy like, 27 days…and you know, I think we just, I don’t know, it was hard, it was a hard shoot for me. I was really, I felt almost kind of, I felt sort of out of the loop. I was 17 years old when I made that movie.”

While probing, Stern went on to ask,

“Out of the loop because Bill is so eccentric like you kind of feel like, maybe he and Sofia are speaking a special language and you’re sort of the outsider?”

While recalling the experience on set, she said,

“Not necessarily, I mean, eventually it kind of did become like that but I think it was because you know, he kind of has his, he’s a comedian, he’s quirky, like you said, and he had a lot of, you know, like, ups and downs, and he had a lot of energy, and he was really like, kind of always, on.”

Echoing her young age as being a determinant during the filming, Johansson said,

“And I was, you know, a 17 year old and I was sort of like, I was more introspective I guess.”

Stern also asked at the time if Scarlett Johansson ever felt intimated by Murray’s status as a veteran actor.

The Black Widow actress reminisced about the work environment and replied,

“Yeah, it was hard for me. I think, that’s what was kind of isolating about it – that everybody was so deferential…I was relaxed, I mean, yeah, that’s what I’m saying, I guess I was kind of in a different, like, headspace and it was hard to relate to one another but I think what worked is that when the cameras were rolling and we actually, came time to do the work, you know, we worked really well together…Nobody knew it would be so profound.”

Sofia Coppola’s comments on shooting with Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray

While doing promotional rounds for her film Priscilla in 2023, Lost in Translation’s director spoke to Indiewire about casting the young Johansson opposite an older Murray. She said that she never felt strange about the actors’ age difference, and only thought about it when her children pointed it out to her. Coppola said,

“I showed it to my kids a few years ago when we were going to Tokyo and staying at the Park Hyatt, and that was the first time I’d watched it in a while, and they were like, ‘Why is she so young and he’s so much older?'” Coppola said. “I had made it when I was closer to Scarlett’s age and didn’t think that much about it. That was something that they noticed the most.”

Coppola went on to explain her casting choice, and added,

“Bill is so lovable and charming. Part of the story is about how you can have romantic connections that aren’t s*xual or physical. You can have crushes on people where it isn’t that kind of thing. Part of the idea was that you can have connections where you can’t be together for various reasons because you’re at different points in life.”

Murray and Scarlett Johansson’s pairing did indeed work extremely well. The film led director Sofia Coppola to win her only Oscar, for Best Original Screenplay. And both Murray and Johansson earned Best leading actor and actress awards respectively at the BAFTAs.

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