Name: Dakota Johnson
Birthdate: October 4, 1989
Birthplace: Austin, Texas
Claim to fame: She’s now best known for landing the role of Anastasia “Ana” Steele in the much-anticipated film-adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey.
What we can see her in next: Fifty Shades of Grey releases in theatres nationwide on Friday February 13.
Interesting fact: While taking a flight from Los Angeles to Vancouver to film Fifty Shades of Grey, she sat on the plane next to Vancouver-native Seth Rogen, who didn’t recognize her.
Best quote: “It’s not, like, a romantic situation. It’s more, like, technical and choreographed and less…it’s more of a task. “ — Speaking about her sex scenes with Jamie Dornan in the movie.
Why we love her: It’s a rare thing when we get to witness an actress in the calm before the storm. AKA. Right at the moment before their anonymity is about to be gone forever (or at least for a long time) and they become a superstar overnight. Well that is exactly what is about to happen to our WCW this week, Dakota Johnson. Virtually unknown to mainstream audiences, Johnson is about to experience the whirlwind fame and publicity of Twilight and Hunger Games level when the film-adaption of Fifty Shades of Grey releases in theatres on Friday Feb. 13. Not only that, but the film is set to be the raunchiest movie picture in over a decade, with over 20 minutes of sex scenes in its 100 minutes running time. So Dakota Johnson enjoy walking through the world in peace for a couple more days, because come Friday your life will change, as the world gets set to view you strapped and blindfolded in a brigade of promiscuous positions.
So what did Dakota Johnson have to say about those sure-to-be talked about sex scenes?
Well she said her big secret is she has no shame, and she was not intimidated by the subject matter of the movie in the slightest. In fact, she begged her manager to help her land the role of Anastasia Steele because she wanted to play her so badly. Now how can you not love a girl that’s so comfortable being handcuffed?
While Johnson is geared to become one-of-the-most-talked-about actresses in Hollywood in the coming weeks, she is no stranger to the spotlight. She is the third-generation in a family of actors — her maternal grandmother is actress Tippi Hedren, her father is Miami Vice star Don Johnson, her mother is Melanie Griffith, and her former stepfather is actor Antonio Banderas. So thankfully for her, acting is in her blood and she should have the anchors in place to deal with her impending fame.
Fifty Shades is undoubtedly her biggest role yet, but it’s not her first. Some of her other roles were playing Sean Parker’s (Justin Timberlake) Stanford hookup the morning he finds Facebook in The Social Network, as well she appeared in the Five-Year Engagement as a girl Jason Segel almost did it with (a possible theme building here?), then she also had a small cameo in 21 Jump Street.
Now come the release of Fifty Shades of Grey, Johnson will surely be one of most coveted actresses, leading to a long list of other higher-profile roles to come her way. We will just have to wait and see if her playing one of the most provocative female characters in cinematic history will typecast her, or be the thing that catapults her movie career to Hollywood superstardom.
You can catch Fifty Shades of Grey in theatres nationwide on February 13.
