Scarlett Johansson Reveals Her Mom Showed Her 'Age-Inappropriate' Silence of the Lambs at 7

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Scarlett Johansson says her love for cinema started early — and she has her mom to thank.

The actress, 36, was honored as the 35th recipient of the American Cinematheque Award Thursday night in Beverly Hills. During her acceptance speech, Johansson told the audience that her mom, Melanie Sloan, began showing her and her siblings movies when they were young.

Some of the films Sloan showed her children included classics like Silence of the Lambs and Schindler's List, which Johansson acknowledged may have been "age-inappropriate" at the time.

"When I was as young as three, my mom started showing me a catalogue of every movie she loved as a child," Johansson said during her speech at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. "And she showed me all the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Rosalind Russell films, Judy Garland movies, and she would swoon every time Montgomery Clift was on screen – 'Isn't he so gorgeous?' "

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"And she sang 'The Trolley Song' at the top of her lungs and got starry eyed every time Annette Funicello came on the screen," she added.

Johansson continued, "She showed my siblings and I many age-inappropriate films like Silence of the Lambs when I was seven. I still remember seeing Schindler's List in the theater when I was nine, I was literally haunted by the little girl in the red coat."

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But if Sloan was challenged by anyone for showing Johansson and her siblings such titles, she knew just what to say: "If anyone ever questioned my mom's parenting approach, she'd say that all her children were very mature," Johansson said.

The Jojo Rabbit star has four siblings: a twin brother, Hunter, and two older siblings — Vanessa and Adrian — plus an older half-brother, Christian.

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The actress said her mom's love for movies helped inspire her own career, explaining, "My passion for performance came from watching all those movies over and over and over."

Both Hunter and Adrian attended the Thursday event honoring Johansson, which featured wines from American Cinematheque partner Château Malartic-Lagravière. A magnum of wine, signed by Johansson, will be donated to raise funds for Solar Responders, which Hunter founded with a mission to save lives in hurricane-hit regions by installing solar power units in first responder fire and police stations

Other attendees included Jon Favreau, Thomasin McKenzie, Andy Richter, Abbie Cornish, and Jamie Lee Curtis, plus Sam Rockwell, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr. and Jeremy Renner.

Johansson posed for photos at the event with her husband, SNL's Colin Jost, marking the couple's first red carpet appearance since welcoming their first child, son Cosmo. Johansson is also mom to daughter Rose, whom she shares with ex-husband Romain Dauriac.