Scarlett Johansson is not seen on screen in Spike Jonze’s new film Her. Instead, she provides the voice of a computer that Joaquin Phoenix’s character grows attached to and falls in love with. Her performance has won praise from critics and some analysts are even wondering if she could be the first Best Actress nominee to never appear on screen. That possibility got a nice boost when she won Best Actress at the Rome Film Festival this weekend.
Johansson almost didn’t even get the part. As The Guardian notes, she was a last-minute replacement for Samantha Morton, who even recorded lines for the film.
Her performance was praised by the Los Angeles Times, which noted that Academy voters have gone for silent performances (Jean Dujardin in The Artist being the most recent), so why not the opposite? However, it would be a major jump for an organization that hasn’t even honored live-action/CG performances like Andy Serkis in the Lord of the Rings films.
Still, the LA Times notes that Warner Bros., Her’s distributor, is still going to campaign for Johansson, hoping that she can at least get a Supporting Actress nod.
If Johansson did get nominated, it would actually be her first Oscar nomination. Despite being in the business since 1994 and having many acclaimed roles on her resume, the beautiful actress has never been recognized by the Academy.
As for the other winners at the Rome Film Festival, Dallas Buyers Club Star Matthew McConaughey won Best Actor and Best Film went to Alberto Fasulo’s documentary Tir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Seventh Code) won Best Director.
Her opens wide in January.