Scarlett Johansson Talks About ‘Hitchcock’ And How ‘Psycho’ Traumatized Her At A Young Age

Scarlett Johansson recently sat down with Matt Lauer to talk about her new film Hitchcock.

According to TODAY, Johansson plays actress Janet Leigh, star of Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Psycho.

Johansson said that it was a real treat to work alongside Oscar-winning stars Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren (who play Hitchcock and his wife Alma). Johansson said that Hopkins and Mirren were very laid back and casual too. She said:

“They’re incredibly casual; it’s ‘Tony,’ of course … and Helen, we just called her, ‘Hey you.'”

The gorgeous actress also commented on seeing Psycho at a very young age. Johannson said:

“I was raised on Hitchcock films. My mother is a huge film buff and I saw Psycho probably when I was too young, I mean I was like 7 or 8 and it was incredibly traumatizing. … It petrified me.”

She was, more than likely, equally traumatized by re-enacting the famous shower scene from the film. In Hitchcock, the director wasn’t convinced by Leigh’s screams, so he steps in to terrify her properly. It worked. The experience made Johansson flash back to another of Hopkins’ iconic roles. She said:

“When you have Tony Hopkins there stabbing at you with a completely frenzied psychotic look on his face, you don’t need (the film’s classic soundtrack to get in the mood). Seeing his (Silence of the Lambs character) Hannibal Lecter from also way too young was enough to give me that naturalistic feeling.”

Hitchcock opened up to a limited amount of theaters in the US on November 23.