Dakota Johnson landed her role in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie series due to a much smaller role in David Fincher’s The Social Network. Johnson first appeared as Anastasia Steele back in 2015 in the first adaptation of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey novels. She starred opposite Jamie Dornan as the mysterious Christian Grey. While the film was not a critical success, it spawned a massive fan base, and the Fifty Shades trilogy, including Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, made a massive $1.3 billion dollars overall.
Many viewers may not remember that Johnson was also in The Social Network, Fincher’s film about the beginnings of Facebook, written by Aaron Sorkin. In fact, the actress appears in only one scene of the Oscar Award-winning movie. In The Social Network, Johnson she plays Amelia Ritter, a student at Stanford who spends the night with Napster founder, Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake). In the scene, the two joke about how Johnson’s character had no idea that her suitor was a major celebrity. Parker later asks to use Ritter’s laptop and discovers Facebook, setting the film’s second act in motion.
As reported by THR, this pivotal scene in The Social Network allowed Johnson to land her starring role in Fifty Shades of Grey. Michael De Luca, producer of both The Social Network and Fifty Shades along with Dana Brunetti, explained how Johnson’s brief appearance in Fincher’s film “blew him away.” According to De Luca, Johnson was so “compelling” in such a short amount of screen time that he and Brunetti immediately thought of her when it came to casting Fifty Shades of Grey. See De Luca’s full quote below:
“I remember Dana and I being blown away by just her brief appearance in The Social Network … Even in that one scene she has with Justin Timberlake, we thought she really was quite compelling. So having worked with her, we were talking about her for Fifty Shades. And just really having the whole weight of that franchise fall on her shoulders and making that character three-dimensional for it was pretty amazing.”
Johnson is no stranger to Hollywood stardom herself, being the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, and granddaughter to 1960s movie star Tippi Hedren. Despite this, it seems her career still might not have had the same trajectory if she had not decided to take the small role in The Social Network. Indeed, the actress has been busy ever since, even filming roles straight through the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the Fifty Shades trilogy, Johnson has starred in projects like Black Mass, Bad Times at the El Royale, Suspiria, The High Note, and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s recent The Lost Daughter. She currently has three additional films in post-production.
It’s true Johnson is showing no sign of slowing down, and yet, the actress remains true to who she wants to be. She has been praised by De Luca as a performer who could easily settle into the mainstream, but still meticulously chooses who she works with, picking only quality directors. While many people still see her as Anastasia from Fifty Shades of Grey, it is likely that will not stay the case for long. And, ultimately, it seems Johnson’s varied and impressive filmography was largely down to a very small role in The Social Network.
Source: THR
