is often seen as a serious figure, but that isn’t exactly how the actress looks at herself. While in conversation with Jenna Ortega for Interview Magazine, the actress revealed how her early start in the industry, and the sexualization that came with it, led to her putting up barriers that many people just see as being her.
Portman made her movie debut at the age of 12 in Leon: The Professional, in which she played a young girl with an uncomfortable relationship with Jean Reno’s middle-aged killer and courted controversy for the “Lolita” style appearance in the film – which was actually meant to see the pair become lovers in an early draft of the script. Speaking to Ortega, Portman said:
“I think there’s a public understanding of me that’s different from who I am. I’ve talked about it a little before—about how, as a kid, I was really sexualized, which I think happens to a lot of young girls who are onscreen. I felt very scared by it. Obviously, sexuality is a huge part of being a kid, but I wanted it to be inside of me, not directed towards me. And I felt like my way of protecting myself was to be like, “I’m so serious. I’m so studious. I’m smart, and that’s not the kind of girl you attack.” I was like, if I create this image of myself, I’ll be left alone. It shouldn’t be a thing, but it worked. But I think that’s the disconnect between me being stupid and silly in real life, and people thinking that I’m some really serious bookish person.”
Natalie Portman Has Had an Incredible Career, with Some Dark Roles
As someone who has appeared in the Star Wars franchise and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would be easy to think that Natalie Portman has been happy to ride the waves of popular franchises like many actors in Hollywood do. However, a dip into her many other roles reveals several deep and disturbing roles that have defined the actress’ career.
From her incredible and troubling debut in Leon: The Professional, Portman really proved herself beyond doubt almost 20 years later when she took the lead role in Black Swan, a disturbing psychological drama that won her the Best Actress Oscar at the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony. One of her most recent roles, in the Todd Haynes-directed May December on Netflix , saw her again dipping back into a dark story of family secrets to great acclaim.
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Last year, she led the TV miniseries, The Lady in the Lake, playing an aspiring investigative journalist who becomes obsessed about a missing girl, and puts herself on a collision course with a woman with a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda in the 1960s setting.
Portman’s upcoming movies include providing a voice in the new animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Twits, and will star in Guy Ritchie’s Fountain of Youth, both of which are set to be released later this year. While her early career may have come with an unwanted bit of attention, her life in front of the camera over the last 30 years has proven that Leon: The Professional director Luc Besson certainly knew what he was talking about when he hand-picked her for the role that started it all, no matter how controversial that role may now be.
Source: Interview Magazine
- Birthname
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Natalie Hershlag
- Birthdate
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June 9, 1981
- Birthplace
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Jerusalem, Israel
Bio
Natalie Portman is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 action film L on The Professional but mainstream success came when she was cast as Padm Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy released in 1999 2002 and 2005 In 1999 she enrolled at Harvard University to study psychology while still working as an actress She completed her bachelor s degree in 2003 In 2001 Portman opened in New York City s Public Theater production of Anton Chekhov s The Seagull In 2005 Portman won a Golden Globe Award and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Closer She won a Constellation Award for Best Female Performance and a Saturn Award for Best Actress for her starring role in V for Vendetta 2006 She played leading roles in the historical dramas Goya s Ghosts 2006 and The Other Boleyn Girl 2008 In May 2008 she served as the youngest member of the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival jury Portman s directorial debut Eve opened the 65th Venice International Film Festival s shorts competition in 2008 Portman directed a segment of the collective film New York I Love You Portman is also known for her portrayal as Jane Foster the love interest of Marvel superhero Thor in the film adaptation Thor 2011 and its sequel Thor The Dark World 2013 In 2010 Portman starred in the psychological thriller Black Swan Her performance received critical praise and earned her a second Golden Globe Award the Screen Actors Guild Award the BAFTA Award the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2011
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