Brad Bird Cast Scarlett Johansson in RAY GUNN for Her Acting, Her Singing Was an Unexpected Bonus

Brad Bird cast Scarlett Johansson in Ray Gunn because he wanted her acting chops. Finding out just how good she could sing was basically getting extra fries at the bottom of the bag.

Bird shared that very specific comparison during a Q&A I attended following a recent screening of Ray Gunn. Johansson’s character gets to show off her musical side in the animated sci-fi noir, but her singing ability wasn’t the reason Bird initially went after her for the role.

He knew Johansson had experience as a singer, but he didn’t realize what she could bring to the music until they started working together.

Bird explained: “I didn't know it to the point that I know it now, but I was aware that she sang, but I wasn't, I wasn't, it kind of surprised me because I was going after her as an actor. And then it was just, like, a perfect, a perfect storm, that she happens to also be a really gifted singer.

“So it's like a bonus fries when you order a burger and you get extra fries on the bottom of that, it's like, oh, it's a bonus, you know?”

Johansson has released music outside of her acting career, but Ray Gunn gave Bird the chance to put both sides of her talent to work in the same performance. It helped that she had Kimbra, the New Zealand singer-songwriter, collaborating with her on the film’s original music.

Bird continued: “She's wonderful and I think she had really good stuff to work with here with Kimbra, who's this wonderful singer-songwriter from New Zealand. And her working with Scarlet to make this happen is, you know, it's better than I could have ever hoped.”

Kimbra wrote original songs for Ray Gunn, including “Innocent,” with each song serving a specific purpose for Johansson’s character and the story. Bird went into the process knowing what he wanted those songs to accomplish, then Kimbra and Johansson took it from there.

Sometimes you just take the win.