Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson said she is no longer afraid of disappearing as an actress, but as a director it is important to share stories that may disappear.

“I think I've been working long enough to get rid of the anxiety that I'm going to disappear, which is very liberating,” she said at the Cannes Film Festival.

Johansson, 40, who played her first major role as a child in “The Horse Whisperer” in 1998, is at this year's festival as an actress and to present her directorial debut, “Eleanor the Great,” AFP reported.

95-year-old lead actress June Squibb won almost universal praise for her role as a grief-stricken pensioner who moves to New York and takes on the personal story of her deceased best friend, a Holocaust survivor.

“At a time when we are constantly struggling with who has the right to tell someone's story, we must also face the fact that stories need to be told. Otherwise, they will disappear,” Scarlett emphasized.

Johansson said that growing up in New York, she could relate to “themes of Jewish identity.”

She noted that she also drew inspiration from her personal experience to build the character of Eleanor after receiving the script with Skuib as the actress.

“I had a grandmother who wasn't exactly like Eleanor, but she was also a very scary — and sometimes impossible — person whom I was very, very close to. And she's definitely woven into this story,” the movie star shared.

Skuib said Johansson's experience as an actress helped on set.

“She's worked with some incredible directors, but none of them had the acting knowledge that she has. It's wonderful because you can relax, there's no pressure,” the actress noted.

The theater and film veteran was nominated for an Oscar for “Nebraska” in 2013 and recently starred in the 2024 action film “Thelma” as a 93-year-old woman determined to track down a phone scammer.

But Squiub pointed out that actors are never sure of their actions. “We're all trying to get it right,” she explained.

When you take on a role, “you get another chance to do it — I mean, if you can keep working,” she added.

Johansson walked the red carpet in Cannes as part of the cast of Wes Anderson's film “The Phoenician Scheme,” which is in contention for the Palme d'Or grand prize. | BGNES