Glenn Close talks Scarlett Johansson casting controversy and James Gunn firing

Actress Glenn Close arrives at the 86th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California March 2, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES TAGS: ENTERTAINMENT) (OSCARS-ARRIVALS) - GM1EA330YR201

Glenn Close is sharing her thoughts on the backlash Scarlett Johansson faced following the annoucement she was taking on a transgender role in the film "Rub and Tug."

After being asked about Johansson's casting controversy during an interview with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for its latest podcast installment, "The HFPA in Conversation" Wednesday, the 71-year-old star said that she's thought about "whether trans [actors] should always play trans and visa versa."

"My thinking right now, is that people who are producing and directing properties like that need to go out of their way to get trans actors jobs," Close, who was nominated for an Oscar for her gender-bending role as Albert Nobbs in the 2011 movie of the same name, explained. "But they also should have the opportunity to cast the best person."

Johannson, 33, reportedly quit the movie—which shares the story of a transgender man who used his Pittsburgh massage parlor as a cover for a brothel in the '70s, according to Bustle—after critics slammed the actress.

However, "The Wife" star explained that she believes "acting is a craft" and that "anyone should be able to play anyone."

"But I certainly understand the need for those who are the same as the character they are casting, I understand their frustration," Close added. "Hopefully, that will happen. But they also should be able to play straight people, or whatever the opposite is. To me that's the real thing, that everybody could play everybody. But I understand why they are so passionate, because this hasn't happened."

Looking back at her own role as Nobbs in the drama-romance movie, Close, who notes that she's "very proud" of the film, explained that even though "some people think" her character is "trans or she's a lesbian" she's actually "neither of those things."

"I always thought of her as a woman who is in disguise," Close shared. "I never thought of her as a guy and I never thought of her as trying to be a guy. I think she changed her voice just to blend in. What she would have been if she had a loving relationship? I don't know."

Along with addressing Johansson, Close also shared her thoughts on the firing of James Gunn. (Gunn was set to direct the third installment of "Guardians of the Galaxy," but was fired July 20 after decade-old tweets resurfaced in which he joked about topics including pedophilia and rape.)

“I felt sad. I felt sad certainly for James. I felt sad for the whole situation," Close, who starred as Nova Prime in the first installment of the franchise, admitted.

"I felt sad that we’re in a society where on social media people say things that they might not say in person," she continued. "I think that’s a real danger. If you’re saying something on social media that you can’t say to somebody face to face, you should think about what you’re saying on social media.

"When I worked with him it was the first time I had been in a movie like that and he was a really good director and he had a great atmosphere on set," Close recalled.