New York, New York - Actor Scarlett Johansson is perhaps best known for her role as Black Widow, a Soviet-trained spy from the Marvel universe, yet she says she faced huge obstacles of inappropriate sexualization when she initially portrayed the character.

Since 2010, Scarlett Johansson (36) has starred as spy and assassin Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, in quite a few Marvel movies. She made her first appearance in the role in the second installment of the Iron Man franchise.

Her character's own dedicated film, Black Widow, is set for an upcoming release on July 9 and will provide critical backstory about the only original female Avenger. Available in movie theaters and on Disney+, the flick is set before the events of Avengers: Endgame.

Collider magazine spoke with the actor during Black Widow's filming and with its summer release date approaching, the new interview dropped on Tuesday.

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In it, Johansson talked about the evolution of her character, and also shared some resentment about how she allowed her image to develop in the beginning.

While Iron Man 2 was meant to be comedic, she said her character Black Widow was oversexualized from the start.

Johansson recalled that her character was referred to as a piece of meat within the film, specifying, "like a possession or a thing or whatever — like a piece of ass, really."

Johansson brought up a particular time when her onscreen love interest Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr., says he just "wants some" from her character in the film.

"My own self-worth was probably measured against that type of comment," she said of her feelings at the time.

It has now been more than ten years since her first appearance in the role. Johansson has since become a mother and has come a long way.

"I accept myself more," she clarified, pointing out that she only succeeded in doing so by breaking away from the sexualization of her portrayal.

"Like a lot of young women, you come into your own and you understand your own self-worth," she explained.

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Back then, she said, she perceived the sexist comments as compliments. As she grew up in the industry, she was able to distance herself from the remarks.

At the same time, Johansson is proud to be able to look back at the evolution of not only herself, but also her character. "Her power is in her sexuality, and that changed over time," the actor pointed out.

She also noted that young female actors today aren't feeling as pressured as she was to comply with sexual branding, and the respect of women in Hollywood is slowly improving.

Johansson has actually gained notoriety in recent years for pushing back against interviewers who ask overtly sexist things, and has been heralded on YouTube by fans.

She also openly criticized the sexual inappropriateness of journalists from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and has been a catalyst for reform in the organization.

"It’s been incredible to be a part of that shift and be able to come out the other side and be a part of that old story, but also progress. Evolve. I think it’s pretty cool," Johnansson said.