‘Loving Someone Is The Most Scary And Beautiful Thing You Can Do’. ELLE UK June 2025

Actor Dakota Johnson is photographed by Tom Schirmacher [IG] for ELLE UK’s [IG] June 2025 cover story. Heathermary Jackson styles actor in 16Arlington, Ferragamo, Gucci, Ralph Lauren Collection, Simone Rocha and more./ Hair by Mark Townsend; makeup by Georgie Eisdell

The A24 Made film ‘Materialists’ never set out to be a blockbuster. With a production budget of $20 million, the film has earned about $30.4 million in North America and $9.7 million internationally, as of July 31th. Translated, by managing its production budget and producing a charming film that has gotten excellent reviews, the ‘Materialists has met all of its goals.

Has it solved the challenge of world peace and ending starvation in Gaza? No. But the Celine-Song directed romcom has resonated as a ‘sign of the times’ movie. ‘Materialists’ was released for on-demand purchase on July 22.

Dakota’s co-stars are Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal, who interviews Dakota. The official logline for the movie read “A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker [Johnson] finds herself torn between the perfect match [Pascal] and her imperfect ex [Evans].”

Pascal and Johnson do not agree about their first meeting and what went down.

Director Celine Song Was a Matchmaker

“I feel like Dakota has this shell to protect herself and approaches the world in a professional and beautiful way,” director Song told ‘Variety’. “If you push through that shell, inside, there’s a very deep soul. I love that she’s as delicate as an egg. I just fell in love with her heart, generally speaking, because she cares so much.”

We learn that Celine used to be a matchmaker in real life, leaving Dakota to marvel over how the director’s entire handbag of skills gave her a unique perspective in directing ‘Materialists’.

Loving Someone Is the Most Scary and Beautiful Thing You Can Do

Upon reflection, Dakota says the being in love is “the most beautiful side of humanity, but it can also be the most ugly. Loving someone is the most scary and beautiful thing you can do.” Johnson’s relationship with Chris Martin wasn’t officially over when this interview occurred.

She also shares the history of her auditioning for Julliard and not getting in. Her father than cut her off financially because she wasn’t advancing her education. So she began auditioning for movie roles including ‘The Social Network’.

Now single, the actor feels that her home is in Malibu, but Dakota also says that her deepest truth is that she feels at home in the world at large. She’s a global nomad and suggests that Pascal is as well.

I think, given the jobs we have, we are both so used to being nomadic, and I find a lot of peace when we’re able to be nomadic together – it’s very joyful. We have clicked into place in the last few years and have been a safe and supportive place for each other.

As to all the romance rumors between the two close friends — the interview offers no clarity.