Dakota Johnson admits she had ‘preconceived notions’ about Justin Timberlake before The Social Network

‘He was lovely and kind and really welcoming for a person that was just a stranger,’ Johnson says about her former co-star

Dakota Johnson has revealed why she “100 percent had preconceived notions” about Justin Timberlake before they worked together.

The 34-year-old actor reflected on filming 2010’s The Social Network alongside the singer during a video interview with Vanity Fair, published on September 26. After watching a moment from the movie where her character woke up next to Timberlake’s character, Johnson was asked if she had “any preconceived ideas about” her co-star before filming.

“I was just like 19 and straddling Justin Timberlake and like whipping him in the face with my hair,” she explained. “100 percent has preconceived notions. But he was lovely and kind and really welcoming for a person that was just a stranger.”

According to Johnson, she has a very clear memory of the scenes in the film.

“I think that because this was The Social Network and David Fincher we did this so many times that I’m like, I’m in it. I know it, I know all the lines. It’s still there,” the Fifty Shades of Grey alum explained while watching the scene of her and Timberlake.

“We did it so many times that I feel like I remember this and it’s happening now. Maybe I was traumatized.”

Dakota Johnson and Justin Timberlake (Getty Images)

During the interview, she also shared a hilarious story of how her mother Melanie Griffith mentioned the scene – where Johnson is wearing short shorts – to former US President Barack Obama.

“I was with my mom, and we were meeting Barack Obama. And It was a huge deal,” the actor added. “He was talking to her and she goes, ‘Oh, Mr President, this is my daughter. She just did a movie. She’s an actress too. She was in The Social Network, she’s in her underwear. And I died.”

Aside from The Social Network, Johnson and Timberlake had a more recent opportunity to work together when she hosted a January episode of Saturday Night Live with the NSYNC frontman as the musical guest. During her opening monologue, the Madame Web star gave the singer a shoutout.

“Tonight is sort of a reunion for me and Justin Timberlake. We were actually in a movie together called The Social Network,” she said, before Timberlake joined her onstage and quipped: “I remember those days, Dakota.”

When Johnson asked Timberlake why he was on-stage, he joked that after hearing her say his name, he assumed that was his “cue” to join her. After she clarified to him that he was the musical guest, he then joked about stepping in for Johnson as host.

“If you want me to be in sketches, I have hosted before,” he said, before mouthing “five times” to the audience. Johnson then rolled her eyes and smirked, as she replied: “Yeah, well, that was 10 years ago.”