Natalie Portman is an example of an actress who had so much personality at a young age shone through each of her roles. Her acting career started at the age of 12, starring as a vengeful girl in The Professional, and then she gained international fame for playing a young queen in the Star Wars movies. Looking back on her childhood career, the Israeli-born actress says she feels “really lucky" to have broken into Hollywood so young, but doesn’t hold back on the dangers of child stardom.
When you think about it, Natalie Portman had a lot of heavy roles starting in Hollywood. She crushed her first movie role playing Mathilda Lando in The Professional (who deals with the trauma of having her whole family murdered), the depressed stepdaughter of Al Pacino’s character in Heat, and Queen of Naboo in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. While speaking to Net-a-Porter, Portman got real about being “really lucky” to have an early Hollywood start, but still refused to ignore the dangers of child stardom:
Listen, I had a really lucky trajectory. I do feel like working as a child was an amazing experience for me – and I was very lucky that I was not harmed. [But] so many kids are harmed. And there are aspects of being publicly known and publicly seen as a kid… that turn you into an adult in a certain way. You become a woman in people’s eyes when you’re on screen.
The Academy Award winner makes a point about being seen as “a woman” to audiences compared to a child on screen. Sure, kids are living professional careers whether they get into character for a movie or sell out concerts. But like the allegations in the docuseries Quiet on Set (which is streaming with a Max subscription) taught us, child actors sadly can get taken advantage of. Many haven’t made it to the age of 40 due to their careers being prioritized over any substance abuse and mental health struggles. Fortunately, stars like Natalie Portman haven’t undergone the tragic consequences of a child star career.
Previously, Natalie Portman shared her “conflicting” feelings over starring in The Professional. While she expressed being grateful that the role of Mathilda gave her an acting career, the Beautiful Girls actress looked back at the action-thriller film and saw it as a bit “cringey.” Having to portray a sexualized role as a pre-teen made her feel she needed to look more conservative for her own safety. At the time, the Luc Besson movie was slaughtered critically for the sexualization of Mathilda and having a 12-year-old character in such a violent environment. But after over three decades, The Professional is now seen as a cult classic, and I’d like to believe Portman's performance had a lot to do with that.
The Golden Globe winner’s career has gone nowhere but up since her child star days. She made a name for herself in the MCU as Jane Foster in the Thor movies, won her first Oscar for her haunting performance in Black Swan, and we’ve got her upcoming heist movie, Fountain of Youth, to look forward to.
Natalie Portman may not be a child anymore, but she told Net-a-Porter how much she loves getting older due to the friendships she’s had for the past three decades or so. While a thriving career can give you purpose, growing friendships can indeed do the same thing.
Even though Natalie Portman avoided the worst of child stardom, she’s still very much aware of the dangers that lurk for upcoming talent. Many young starlets can learn from the Jackie actress that it is possible to thrive in Hollywood at a young age without having to lose yourself in the process. You can watch Portman’s career continue to flourish in the upcoming adventure movie, Fountain of Youth, coming to your Apple TV+ subscription on May 23rd.
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