Scarlett Johansson spoke to Candace Jackson from the Wall Street Journal about her new album, "Anywhere I Lay My Head."
In response to why she decided to record an album,Johansson said: "The album came about because I did a track for my friend's [compilation] album, 'Unexpected Dreams,' to benefit an organization called Music Matters. The studio that distributed the album really liked my track and asked if I would be interested in recording a full album."
"I originally started acting as a kid because I wanted to do musical theater," Johansson added. "I always loved to sing and had always taken vocal lessons when I was a kid, and just thought of all of my friends who were struggling musicians would kill for this opportunity, so I couldn't really pass it up."
Johansson also compared filming a movie and recording her album.
"I've been making movies since I was eight, so I'm completely familiar with the industry and the process," she said. "Recording an album was a huge learning experience for me. I didn't know at all what to expect.
I think there's probably more similarities between acting and singing than differences, really," Johansson added. "It's still about drawing from your own personal experience and creating a character. All the artists I love, like Chet Baker or Bob Dylan or Tom Waits, all sort of built these characters, these journeys that you follow as a listener. It's similar to the way you build a character for a film."
You can check out the entire interview, as well as Johansson's responses to questions about Tom Waits and her new engagement to actor Ryan Reynolds.
