Scarlett Johansson Filmed ‘Asteroid City’ 8 Weeks After Giving Birth

Scarlett Johansson cut her maternity leave short in order to appear in Wes Anderson's upcoming film Asteroid City.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly published Thursday, the actress explained that Anderson first approached her about the role in 2020, and they began developing her character, a "formidable" actress inspired by Bette Davis.

By the time shooting started, Johansson was pregnant.

Johansson had already put so much work into helping create the part, so she returned to the film set eight weeks after giving birth. She credits her co-star Jason Schwartzman for lending a helpful hand.

"My brain was mostly functioning, but he would help me run lines at any moment. He was constantly present and supportive, and I needed him very much," Johansson told EW. "I would say 'Please don't go too far away from me.' I was trying to stay alert, but he was just great. We work very similarly."

Anderson wrote Johansson's role with her mind and, for the actress, it was just too good to pass up. She was intrigued by the character and Anderson himself, whom she previously collaborated with on the 2018 film Isle of Dogs.

Of her character, Midge Campbell, Johansson told Variety, "I was curious: Who is this person? How did she get here, to be so successful at that time? She’s this star of stage and screen — what drove her there? I like the sort of constraints of Wes' precision. I think in some ways, it's more liberating."

Asteroid City is in theaters June 16.