Johansson: "I went through this realization that acting, at its heart, is the ability to manipulate your own emotions."

Johansson: "I've always been very competitive, and a part of that is pushing your boundaries - taking a risk and being able to live with the loss that comes with taking a risk."

Johansson: "I'm happiest when I have something to focus my energy on."

Johansson: "Just because I'm the top-grossing actress of all time does not mean I'm the highest paid. I've had to fight for everything that I have. It's such a fickle and political industry."

Johansson: "I value my privacy and my personal life - and I certainly don't exploit my personal life."

Johansson: "When you spend a lot of time, like I do, just standing around and waiting, or being moved from place to place, every minute gets consumed by something someone else has set up for you. And it's not like I'm always in a beautiful place wearing something gorgeous."

Johansson: "I work a lot, so I don't really live anywhere for very long periods of time."

Johansson: "I believe in finding a soul mate. I've always been in monogamous relationships. I would never want to be in an open one. It'd be too awful. Monogamy can be hard work for some people. I don't think it applies to everybody, and I don't think a lot of people can do it."

Johansson: "I still eat a burger at a counter with ketchup dripping down my face."

Johansson: "I mean, it's nice to get a dinner reservation ahead of other people, but when it comes down to it, the most important thing to me is the actual work."

Johansson: "I have always... expected a lot from myself."

Johansson: "I've always been interested in local politics. I never rule anything out, but I have a very full life right now, with a very young daughter. I have a lot that I want to do still with my career... I can't imagine that would be a possibility for a long time."

Johansson: "I've always been very determined, ever since I was a little girl, to make my way."

Johansson: "Powerful women often get concerned with this idea that they're going to be seen in this unforgiving light. Screw that. It's so old-fashioned... It's so uninspired and actually really cowardly."

Johansson: "I definitely believe in plastic surgery. I don't want to be an old hag. There's no fun in that."

Johansson: "As a devoted mother and private person, and with complete awareness that my daughter will one day be old enough to read the news about herself, I would only like to say that I will never, ever be commenting on the dissolution of my marriage."

Johansson: "It's nice to have a crush on someone. It feels like you're alive, you know?"

Johansson: "LA's a very hard place to be unless you have people there that love you. It can be very, very lonely, and it can eat you up if you don't take care of yourself. In LA, nobody wants to talk to each other, everybody's giving each other catty looks."

Johansson: "I don't do damsel in distress very well. It's hard for me to play a victim."

Johansson: "I've always had the same principle for choosing roles, which is to try and make movies that I would pay to see. As I get older, that's meant different things."

Johansson: "I look for projects with filmmakers who want to make things that give the audience a fresh experience."