Share and Follow
Before she was Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades Trilogy, Dakota Johnson played a minor role in the 2010 biopic, The Social Network.
In fact, 11 years after the film, she reunited with her co-star Andrew Garfield to reminisce about that time in their careers. There, Johnson also revealed that lead star, Jesse Eisenberg “didn’t acknowledge” her on set.
Here’s what really happened between them.
At 21 years old, Johnson played Amelia Ritter in The Social Network. Her character is the Stanford student whom Justin Timberlake’s Sean Parker had a one-night stand with.
Speaking to Vanity Fair alongside Garfield, Johnson said that it was “cool” shooting that scene. “We shot that scene in one day, and that day Terrence Malick came to set to watch how David was working with digital, and I was like, What?” she shared.
“It was so cool. I loved it,” she continued, noting that she wasn’t nervous that day. “No, I was so nervous. Before you shoot anything, I don’t sleep, and you kind of have that hollow, nervous, shaky feeling, but it was amazing. It was the best.”
When asked about her experience working with the director, David Fincher — who’s known for “physical continuity” in filming — Johnson said that he was actually “so kind and lovely.” He described the filmmaker’s process as “creatively, almost liberating, when you’d think it would be the opposite when you have such a limited place to move, but it does so much, I think, emotionally.”
When asked about the first time she and Garfield met, Johnson said that he and Eisenberg were “so busy” getting into their characters.
Read Related Also: Greg Grippo responds to Victoria Fuller backlash after ‘BiP’ reunion
“You and Jesse were so busy on that movie, and I was obviously in it for four seconds, but I spent a few days on set just watching,” she recalled, adding that Eisenberg even ignored her behind the scenes. “I remember sitting down with you guys when you were having lunch one day, and you asked me loads of questions. You were really nice—and Jesse didn’t acknowledge me. He was probably in character.”
The Spider-Man actor agreed that the DC star was just deep into his Mark Zuckerberg persona. “Oh boy, I don’t know. I feel like I need to defend him in some way,” Garfield told Johnson. “There was maybe some of the Zuckerberg coming through in that moment.”
In 2016, Eisenberg opened up about using his anxiety in acting. “This is just the nature of my mind mixed with live theatre,” he told The Daily Beast.
“But that’s also what makes it really exciting; you know, I discovered that I do my best when I’m worried about something. This is not a very healthy way to live necessarily, but it’s a nice rubric for me to know when I’m doing something that’s worthwhile; that means I get worried about it, it means I’m scared, it means I don’t feel like I’ve perfected it yet.”
When asked about the impact of The Social Network on their careers, Johnson said that “it takes a lot to be private now, like so much effort every day. You don’t do certain things or go certain places.” As for Garfield, “it makes you focus on the things that matter and the relationships that matter and the friendships.”
“It’s worth the effort, I find,” continued the Mainstream star. “I would much rather work really hard, but then there are some days where I just don’t care.” He and Johnson also discussed the struggles of navigating people’s perception of them. “If someone’s open to me being a person, we have a lovely conversation,” Garfield said of fame’s effect on his social life, “but then there are some people that don’t want that.”
The latter agreed, saying that most people “want you to start climbing up the walls.” She further explained: “I think it comes back to, at the end of the day, you’re an actor acting. You’re playing a part. So, for people to think that maybe that’s who you are or for people to think that you have to be a certain person in order to play a part, it’s all a big mess.”
In April 2022, Garfield announced that he was taking a break from acting because he wants to be “a bit ordinary for a while.”
