Scarlett talks about her 'sexiness'

Actress Scarlett Johansson arrives at the Cinema Palace in Venice August 30, 2006. The Venice Film Festival opens on Wednesday with the world premiere of "The Black Dahlia", a sepia-tinted throwback to 1940s Hollywood based on a grisly real-life murder that remains unsolved to this day. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (ITALY)

Scarlett Johansson has had to defend her own "sexiness" while holding a press conference to promote her new film The Black Dahlia.

The actress' new movie opened the Venice Film Festival, and includes steamy scenes between her and co-star Josh Hartnett.

When informed by a journalist that her sex appeal could prove a distraction from the film's plot, the 21-year-old was forced to reveal her feelings on the matter.

According to ITV News, she responded: "Of course it's nice to be considered sexy, as a young woman in my prime. But I try not to think about the sexiness. I never think about it being distracting from a scene."