Dakota Johnson shares mixed feelings about acting, producing

Dakota Johnson just got candid about the challenges and rewards of her career, describing a “love-hate relationship” with acting and producing due to the “shady” side of the entertainment industry and the emotional battles she had to face.

Speaking at the Red Sea International Film Festival, Dakota described her emotional struggles on her journey in Hollywood and her push to become a producer through her company TeaTime Pictures. She noted that “financiers are really shady sometimes.”

“It is heartbreaking. As a producer, it can be very heartbreaking. As an actress, it can be heartbreaking,” she said.

“But then both (producing and acting) are so incredibly fulfilling, and I feel very grateful that I’m able to do both,” said Johnson, who is the daughter of actors Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson.

She added that she found producing as more of a challenge than acting because “there’s something about acting where I feel I’m in a bubble, and with producing you see behind the curtain, and it’s really ugly.”

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Her production house TeaTime Pictures, co-run with best friend Ro Donnelly, has backed films including “Splitsville” (2025), “Daddio” (2023), “Am I OK?” (2022), and Sundance-winning “Cha Cha Real Smooth” (2022).

Johnson noted that the company focuses on “mostly female-driven, human experience projects,” and is producing her directorial debut, “A Tree Is Blue”, starring Jessica Alba.

Reflecting on her acting career, Johnson highlighted particularly meaningful projects, such as “The Peanut Butter Falcon” (2019), working with Luca Guadagnino on “A Bigger Splash” (2015) and “Suspiria” (2018), and collaborating with Maggie Gyllenhaal on “The Lost Daughter” (2021). She described the experiences as deeply inspiring, praising her co-stars and directors for their guidance and emotional intelligence.

Johnson also expressed admiration for the emerging Saudi film scene, calling the festival and its emphasis on female filmmakers from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia “inspiring” and crediting it with renewing her faith in cinema.

The Red Sea International Film Festival is on till December 13.