Dakota Johnson opens up about depression in new 'Marie Claire' interview

Fans may have thought they’d seen all of Dakota Johnson following her high-profile role in Fifty Shades of Grey, but the 30-year-old is opening up unlike ever before for the current issue of Marie Claire. In an interview that took place before the coronavirus was declared a pandemic, Johnson got real about her own anxiety, her struggle with depression, and how she’s learned to cope with her mental health.“I’ve struggled with depression since I was young—since I was 15 or 14. That was when, with the help of professionals, I was like, 'Oh, this is a thing I can fall into,'” she told the publication. “But I’ve learned to find it beautiful because I feel the world," Johnson continued. "I guess I have a lot of complexities, but they don’t pour out of me. I don’t make it anyone else’s problem."

 

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@dakotajohnson covers our new summer issue. In an interview conducted at the end of February, the actress opens up about struggling with depression, wanting her ideas heard (and respected), and her upcoming comedy 'The High Note.' Link in bio for the full story. EIC: @ayakanai Writer: @justinedc Photographer: @stevenpanpan Design Director: @wanyizee Stylist: @katie_mossman Hair: @marktownsend1 Makeup: @georgieeisdell Manicure: @deborahlippmann Set Design: @evan_jourden Production: @preisscreative Booker: @maxwelllosgar

A post shared by Marie Claire (@marieclairemag) on May 12, 2020 at 5:08am PDT

In the interview, which comes just in time for the digital release of Johnson’s latest movie, The High Note, on May 29, Johnson is also pretty frank about how she chooses her roles now that she’s got some proper titles on her resume, and how in the past what she thought she was signing up for wasn’t always necessarily the end result. “For a long time, I’d do a movie and have no say. I could go into something, and it’ll be one thing, and then it comes out as a totally different thing," she said. "As an artist, you’re like, 'What the f----?'"Johnson also revealed that’s what made filming The High Note so special—having a say. In the movie Johnson plays the assistant to a musical superstar named Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross), but dreams of becoming a big-time music producer. According to the interview, Johnson was key in helping to create her character in the film. “I definitely want to have my craft, my artistry, and my ideas respected and tossed around. I want to be part of the process,” she said. “I also have really specific taste.”Artistic endeavors aside, Johnson also brought the interview full-circle when she revealed how the scare of COVID-19 has affected her mental health. According to her it’s brought out the worst in her mind at times, and she’s continually fighting that darkness.“I’m constantly thinking about the state of the world right now. It keeps me up at night, all night, every night. My brain goes to crazy dark places with it,” she said, related to those with anxiety and mental health struggles everywhere. “My brain moves at a million miles per minute. I have to do a lot of work to purge thoughts and emotions, and I am in a lot of therapy.”Here’s hoping Hollywood opens back up again soon so that Johnson (and many others) can get back into some creative relief.