Dakota Johnson on how she coped with feeling 'exposed' in 'Fifty Shades'

— -- Dakota Johnson admits that her breakout role as Anastasia Steele in the "Fifty Shades" movie franchise left her feeling exposed but says the experience hasn't been all bad.

"Fundamentally, I’m open and warm. At my core, I’m a bleeding heart," she told Allure's "New Naked" issue. "But when your life is exposed and when the movie that exposes your life is exposing your emotions and your body, it can be very scary."

The 28-year-old star said she discovered that she can still be strong despite feeling vulnerable.

"Throughout this entire experience, I’ve learned that I can expose my heart and my emotions and I can still protect myself," she said. "I can still be vulnerable and strong. It’s a constant ebb and flow and a battle and trying to figure out how to have those things coexist within me. That’s what I’m grateful for."

The daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson also explained how she chooses roles.

"I don’t know how to explain it in a way that doesn’t sound hokey, but when I’m on a project, I’m on it for a certain reason, and I’m involved with the people for a reason, and it’s always some sort of weird marriage to something that’s happening in my life, or the character has some connection to something that’s going on [in my life]," she told Allure.

Johnson and co-star Jamie Dornan return to the big screen in "Fifty Shades Freed," the final installment, on Feb. 9.