We look at the best films by Hollywood actress Dakota Johnson.
Dakota Johnson was practically born with a career in Hollywood: She is the daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, stepdaughter of Antonio Banderas, and granddaughter of Tippi Hedren, who starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” in the 1960s has. Accordingly, the native Texan was in front of the camera for the first time at an early age: at the age of nine, she appeared in “Crazy in Alabama,” a tragicomedy based on the novel of the same name by Mark Childress. Johnson’s stepfather Banderas directed and mother Griffith starred.
But the 34-year-old was determined to prove herself and establish herself as an actress without the help of her famous family. However, her application to the renowned New York art academy “Juilliard” was rejected, which drove Johnson to California. Like all aspiring actors, she took part in dozens of auditions. Finally, with “The Social Network” in 2010, she managed to get her first foot into Hollywood’s difficult door. In it she plays Justin Timberlake’s one-night stand. This is followed by small roles in comedies such as “21 Jump Street” and “Almost Married” and the video game adaptation “Need for Speed”.
Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan in “Fifty Shades of Grey” Chuck Zlotnick/Focus/Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
Dakota Johnson’s big break: “50 Shades of Gray”
Johnson’s final breakthrough came with the film adaptation of the erotic novel series “Shades of Gray” by E.L. James. At the audition for the lead role of Anastasia Steele, she impressed with a monologue from Ingmar Bergman’s “Persona” and ultimately left experienced actress colleagues such as Elizabeth Olsen and Lucy Hale behind. Johnson becomes world famous overnight not only because of the commercial success of the first film, which grossed over $250 million in 2015 and broke box office records, but above all because of its controversial content: The trilogy is about a shy college graduate, who enters into a BDSM relationship with mysterious entrepreneur Christian Grey, whose traumatized psyche is far darker than his sexual preferences.
Even if the critics didn’t have a good opinion about the film adaptation – it was tiring to watch two immature characters constantly making conservatively filmed grimaces and suppressed moans,” said a journalist from the IONCINEMA portal – the “Shades of Grey” franchise still has a large fan base today – and Dakota Johnson has hardly been able to avoid offers of roles since then.
Dakota Johnson continues to surprise us with her diverse role portfolio.
The 9 best films with Dakota Johnson
With her knowing smile, endearing gap between her teeth and perfect bangs, Johnson captivates audiences and ensnares critics, whether she’s playing a terminally ill mother, a seductive vacationer or a dancer at a bewitched academy. Before she has to save the universe as the superhero “Madame Web” (seen in German cinemas from February 14th), let’s take a look back at Dakota Johnson’s best films to enjoy her brilliance and versatility as an actress . When selecting the following nine films, we used the critics platform Rotten Tomatoes as a guide, which collects all film reviews and uses them to create an overall rating.
