ET spoke to Johnson about her viral moment, her new movie, 'Cha Cha Real Smooth,' and more.
Dakota Johnson is no stranger to a viral moment. ET's Lauren Zima spoke with Johnson ahead of the release of her new film, Cha Cha Real Smooth, about becoming a meme and all the exciting projects she has in the works.
"I’m not aware of them," Johnson said when asked if she's privy to some of her internet-breaking clips, including her infamous 2019 interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and discussing her love of limes during Architectural Digest's tour of her home. "I don't know these things happen, and then, like, a year later, somebody is asking me about it."
While Johnson isn't aware of her many meme-worthy moments, the rest of the world is, so much so that fans have made T-shirts of them.
"The other day, Spike Jonze sent me a picture of a woman who works with him wearing a T-shirt of something I said with a drawing of me on it," the Fifty Shades of Grey actress revealed. " I was like, 'What?!'"
Her new film, Cha Cha Real Smooth, is sure to make waves too, with the Johnson-produced project finding the 32-year-old actress portraying a young mom to an autistic teenage daughter. The pair strike up a unique friendship with a party starter -- played by Cooper Raif -- at a bat mitzvah after he becomes the babysitter for Johnson's daughter.
With Raif also directing the project and Johnson producing, the pair were able to collaborate, both on-screen and off.
"Well, a lot of this process was different, because we worked on everything together," Johnson shared. "Depending on what we shot, and how it went, and if anything was improvised or if we didn't get something or we got extra whatever it was, then we would adjust further the following scene, so that it would make more sense or call back to a joke that was made that wasn't previously in the script. So, just constantly updating, so that it was a real, cohesive story."
Having that producing power allowed Jonson to make those kinds of adjustments and be more creative, something she said people have gotten "annoyed" with her over in the past.
"Usually, people get annoyed with me because I wanna do that, so I guess now, because it's my movie -- well, because I was a producer on it, nobody could tell me I couldn't do that," she said.
Adding, "Some people really do get annoyed, they’re like, 'You’re just an actress, how could you know?' but like, I have a brain in my head."
There's plenty of projects in her future that will allow her to wear many hats, but one of the most exciting is Johnson's entry into the Marvel Universe with Madame Web. While she couldn't reveal much, Johnson said it's always been a dream of hers to be a part of a massive action movie.
"I can tell you pretty much nothing that isn't already on the internet," Johnson maintained. "I’m so excited. It's pretty cool to be in the Marvel world, especially with a character that's not so known. So, there's a lot of space for us to make her very cool."
She continued, "It's always been a dream of mine to do some kind of, like, massive action movie. I always wanted to do, like, a female Indiana Jones...I really have, always."
See Johnson in Cha Cha Real Smooth when it premieres June 17 on Apple TV + and in select theaters.
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