Scarlett Johansson

Photo by: WENN / Landov

Could Scarlett Johansson be the next Mia Farrow? The 21-year-old actress has become Woody Allen's latest muse – her performance in his new drama Match Point earned a Golden Globe nod, and she'll star in his romantic comedy Scoop, due next year. (Also out in '06: the thriller The Black Dahlia, costarring her real-life beau, Josh Hartnett.) Johansson spoke recently about being starstruck, getting soaked and never feeling beautiful.

Were you intimidated by working with Woody Allen?
I've been a huge fan of Woody's since probably before I was supposed to be watching his movies. I was definitely nervous. I was cast a week before shooting started. I got there and we did these camera tests which were horrible and long and Woody was there just sort of standing behind the camera. My first takes were horrible. Then I realized that I better suck it up because I had seven weeks of it.

There's a love scene in the film where you look like you're freezing. How was that to shoot?
I was definitely miserable. I mean, getting fully wet and drenched, especially when you're wearing jeans, is like the most unpleasant thing, especially when you're all nice and toasty, and they're like, "We're going to dump buckets of water on you." At first I was like, "I could just get wet in the rain." They were like, "We have to make you drenched." I really hated my costumer that day. I really hated Woody that day, too.

Your costar in Match Point, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, said he spends a lot of time at the gym. Do you?
I get so bored. If I spend an hour in the gym in the morning I feel great about myself for the next three days. I'm like, "I can eat whatever I want. I went to the gym for an hour three days ago."

In the movie, there's a whole debate about being sexy versus being beautiful. How do you see yourself?
You put on an outfit and you think, "Hey, I feel sexy." But I think that it's rare that you feel beautiful. I think beauty is something that you sort of recognize in other people. I never look at myself in the mirror and say, "I look really beautiful."

How do you feel about luck?
I feel pretty damn lucky. When I was a little kid I was like a little singing, dancing sensation – or at least I thought of myself as a sensation. I wanted to be on Broadway. I feel like I was always meant to be an actor and that this is how it's supposed to be. I certainly know that I have a chance that's one in a million and I feel constantly lucky that I haven't been found out.