See Scarlett Johansson on TODAY in 1998 — at 13!

Scarlett Johansson says she has wanted to act since she was three. Now at 13, she's a veteran of several movies and in her biggest role yet, she's co-starring with Robert Redford in The Horse Whisperer. She plays Grace, a girl struggling to rebuild her life after a devastating accident. Kristen Scott Thomas and Sam Neill play her parents. I got those tickets for the Knicks game. Good. Want to come, Annie? No. Why don't you go with a friend, Grace? Yeah. You want to eat something else, honey? We can order out something else. No, I'm just not that hungry, that's all. Well, you should try to eat anyway. It's the only way you're going to get... You said I wasn't hungry. You want to watch some television? I think you should finish first. I just... I can't. Here. I'm sorry. No, Dad, I got it. Got it. Scarlett Johansson, good morning. Nice to see you. What an incredible opportunity this must have been for you. Yes, it was. It really was. How excited were you when you got this role, Scarlett? I was just... I couldn't believe it. I was like... It was an incredible feeling. I mean, there was a feeling of relief because the whole audition process was over. When I first read the script, I really thought, finally, somebody has captured the essence of a young woman's role, which you can never find. For people who've read the book, they obviously know what's happened to her. She was in a terrible accident riding her horse. That's how the book opens and the movie opens so dramatically. But she's been wounded in a lot of ways, hasn't she? Yes, she has. I mean, you really see Grace's character in sort of three different acts. I think in the beginning, she's very hurt and confused and just traumatized and has this relationship with her mother. It's like friction. Her mother wants to give so much, is so overprotective, but at the same time isn't paying attention at all. And Grace really needs somebody there to listen to her. I've been very lucky because I have parents that listen to me and are very appreciative of what I do and very supportive. And I think Grace's parents aren't really paying enough attention to her, what she has to say. When she and her mother take off for Montana to go through the healing process, really for all of them, for Grace, for Annie, her mother, played by Kristen Scott Thompson, for the horse, of course, Pilgrim. I mean, Grace really blossoms, doesn't she? Yeah, she really does. I mean, at first when we see her going to Montana, she's very angry with her mother because her mother made this big decision for her and she just doesn't think that she, you know, she doesn't want to go. And I think it's also that she doesn't want to go because her mother wants her to go so badly, you know. So at first we see they're very angry at each other and just very upset with one another. And then she sort of blossoms. Are you afraid of anything, Tom Booker? What was it like working with Robert Redford? I mean, he is such an icon for so many people. Yeah, working with him was amazing. I mean, I think it really helped that he was an actor as well as a director because we could communicate so well. And I guess you couldn't really call it actor talk. You know, that wouldn't be the right word. But it was just a connection between us. And a lot of the times you get a director who can't really explain what they want to say to you and they can't tell you what they're feeling about your character and it gets very frustrating. But we didn't have that problem on the set because we could communicate so well. So we understood each other. Is it hard for you? I mean, you're only 13. I mean, is it hard for you to be in school and pursue this career? It must get a little overwhelming. Yeah, it gets overwhelming. You know, it gets difficult because you have to get in that assignment but at the same time you're reading your lines. So it gets difficult. But I mean, it's like a dream come true. I couldn't ask anything more. And I, you know, you learn to work with it. And school isn't the best thing, you know. I'm not like a candidate for school or anything. You're not going to be a National Merit finalist? No, no, sorry. Well, why not? Come on, don't say that. We'll see. Well, you're certainly incredibly articulate and poised for a 13-year-old. Thank you. Much more so than a lot of 50-year-olds I speak with. I wish you all the luck in the world. Your performance in this movie is really stunning. Thank you very much. Nice to meet you, Scarlett. Nice to meet you. And we'll be back in a moment. This is Today on NBC.