Scarlett Johansson found working with James Gray to be "such a joy".

The 41-year-old actress stars in Paper Tiger, the new crime drama film written and directed by James Gray, and Scarlett has revealed that she relished working with the filmmaker on the project.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: "It's not too studied. There's room to play, and it's such a joy to be able to work like that."

Scarlett - who stars alongside Adam Driver and Miles Teller in Paper Tiger - plays Hester Pearl, a stay-at-home mom determined to fight for more, in the film. And the Hollywood star loved her role in Paper Tiger.

Speaking about her on-screen character, Scarlett explained: "I liked the idea of Hester being feminine and soft and graceful because she has a lot of chutzpah inside her.

"She loves fashion magazines and going to the movies -- she loves romantic comedies and all things romantic -- and window shopping. All of those things are such an important part of who she is and how she presents herself. She should be in the middle of her life and striving for more -- vivacious and full of life. That's how I envisioned her."

Scarlett explained that she could easily relate to her character's struggles in some ways.

The actress said: "Women give up their dream for their husband and take a step back, and the dream becomes more of a dream for their family. It's so common. I've seen it in my friends, I've seen it in my family.

"I just know in my bones what that is -- there's a sadness about it and a beauty about it. It's such a bittersweet thing."

James always wanted to work with Scarlett, but he wasn't sure she'd accept the offer.

The acclaimed director shared: "I didn't think Scarlett Johansson had any interest in working with me on any level.

"I don't even know if she's aware of this, but multiple times, I wanted to work with her. I've been kind of obsessed with working with Scarlett for a long time so I had total pessimism about it."

However, Scarlett ultimately accepted the offer after being wowed by the script.

She said: "I was like, 'Oh, I know I can do this. I don't necessarily know how I'm going to do it, but I know that there's something here that I can do and that I can be additive. It had so many elements that I loved. It's a big story inside of a small story."