July 2004 By Philip Berk
Nine years ago when she was just fourteen, Natalie Portman was already a star in the making. I remember at a press conference being blown away by her beauty, her poise, and her intelligence.
Her resume at the time included Luc Besson’s The Professional, Al Pacino’s Heat, and Woody Allen’s Everybody Says I Love You.
And she had turned down Lolita!
Wasn’t she fearful she might skip adolescence altogether, I asked her, and her confident reply was, “I’m really not trying to become an adult. I’m just having fun. I’m having a normal life. I live in a normal place. I go to school. I do one or two movies a year, and when I do them, it’s usually during school vacation so I don’t miss much. I think of my acting as an amazing hobby, really. I intend to go to college and I don’t plan on majoring in drama. “
True to her word she’s made only a handful of movies since, and she’s earned a bachelor degree in psychology from Harvard University.
What she didn’t anticipate was being chosen by George Lucas to play the young Queen Amidala in the Star Wars trilogy, a role which established her as an international star.
The last of the trilogy, Revenge of the Sith, is opening in May.
In Beverly Hills to promote her latest film (Closer) I ask her about that whole Star Wars experience, what it meant to her.
Collecting her thoughts, after all, we’re there to promote Closer, she finds her answer. “By the time the film comes out, it’ll be ten years since I signed on. So it’s been a big portion of my life and a really important experience. The third one is the darkest of the three because that’s when Hayden Christiansen’s character Anakin Skywalker turns into Darth Vader. My character Amidala is pregnant in the entire movie with his child, so I had to wear one of those pads, which was fun. But we all really worked hard, Hayden, Ewan (McGregor) and I; we helped each other, rehearsed a lot. I think this one will be strong.”
How was it working with George Lucas again?
“I absolutely admire George with all my heart and will always look up to him.”
And her costars?
“Ewan is one of my favorite people and Hayden is so wonderful. I will know all of them for a long time. Not working together won’t keep us apart.”
She’s equally enthusiastic about her co-stars in Closer in which she plays a strip-joint dancer pursued by two manipulative men (played by Jude Law and Clive Owen.)
What was it like working with them?
“I had difficulty concentrating on my own performance because I loved watching them so much. They’re both just wonderful, wonderful actors. And Jude is like the sweetest, kindest person. He’s comfortable to be around and he’s such a wonderful father. He’s always talking about his kids; it’s like his favorite topic of conversation. He’s really a decent human being and an incredible actor.”
And Clive? (whose performance is the one most likely to win an Oscar this year.)
“Clive is unbelievable,” she generously responds. “He’s so charismatic. Everyone’s wonderful in it, but he was the revelation for me. Working with him, it was so comfortable. We had some pretty sexually open scenes together, and he had this great balance. He wasn’t embarrassed for me, and yet he was respectful, and it never crossed the line. He’s also a great father, but very private about his family even though he clearly loves his children.”
One scene in particular included a shot that ended up on the cutting room floor.
Was that her decision?
“Before we started shooting we had an agreement, Mike (director Nichols) and I, to just go for everything, to really give our all. And he said, ‘Okay. We trust each other,’ and I said, ‘I’ll do everything,’ and he said, ‘Okay, and then I’ll cut my version, and we’ll talk about it afterwards.’ So we shot with the nudity and without it, and when he showed it to me, I didn’t think it was fitting in the film. The beauty of the film is they talk about the sex but you don’t see any of it; so to show one flash (of frontal nudity) seemed out of place. ‘It’s gratuitous,’ I told Mike, and he said ‘Okay, that’s our deal.’ And he kept his word and he took it out. But later he called me and said, ‘I think it’s better without it. I think it’s a better film without it.”
Playing opposite two of the sexiest men in film, you’d think she’d be attracted to either one (Jude Is available) but she’s never shown any interest in any of her co-stars.
The only actor she’s been linked with is Gael Garcia Bernal (the hunky star of Motorcycle Diaries and Bad Education) but apparently that relationship is over.
When asked about it, she replies, “I’m sorry I don’t discuss my private life at all.” Then coyly she adds, “I like reading about it, about other peoples’ lives, but I won’t talk about it.”
Is there nothing about him she could say?
“He’s a wonderful actor,” she replies.
What are the qualities she’s looking for in a boyfriend, and are they much the same qualities she sees in her father?
“I love my father,” she replies, “but it would be creepy to say I was looking for someone like my father. I mainly look for someone who’s different from me because I love learning from people with different points of view.”
No special quality?
“I’d say laughter is the most important thing. Not someone who can make you laugh but someone who is able to laugh as we go through life.”
In Closer Clive is the Caveman type and Jude the sensitive type.
Which is she more attracted to?
“I don’t know. I don’t have a type. I guess someone who is a good person, who’s curious, and who’s striving to better himself and everything around him.”
Was she apprehensive about doing such an adult film?
“No, because Mike created an atmosphere where we were all in a safe place. We had a three week rehearsal period where we sat around and talked about the themes of the film and tried to relate them to our own experiences. We actually laughed together, got to know each other, and really got comfortable with each other. Once you have that level of comfort, you’re able to make mistakes, to try crazy things.”
Her character is far removed from her own experience.
Where did she find her?
“I’ve always had the most fun playing someone completely different from myself. The bigger the challenge the more fulfilling it is. With a play like Closer you’re constantly stimulated by the material, and you draw from that.’
Did she have anyone in mind?
“There are very few people in my life who I’ve been able to steal bits from. For this I went to strip clubs. I talked to women who worked there. I would take a bunch of my guy friends there, talk to the girls who were not dancing. You’d get this wide range of stories from them, find out what led them there, their reactions to working there. And of course I studied pole dancing, how to physically do it.”
Has her education helped her become a better actress?
“Not really. For me acting is very emotional; it requires you to forget your intellect. Education gives you knowledge of the world and of people. I’ve chose to get an education for that reason, not because I thought it would make me a greater actor.”
Does she have a drama coach?
“No, I’ve never taken acting lessons or coaching or anything.”
But she did study ballet at age four.
How did she get into acting?
“I was approached by Revlon to do modeling, but I didn’t want to model. I wanted to act, and I was lucky to find an agent. As a little girl I would organize the neighborhood kids into mini-Broadway shows. I’ve always believed acting is fun. It’s much easier than doing surgery. I can think of 50,000 jobs that are harder!”
Were her parents overly protective of her?
“As a teenager they let me do whatever I wanted. They trusted me because they’d given me a strong upbringing. They knew I could take care of myself and protect myself. I come from a really solid family background.”
Is that why she matured so early?
“Well, yeah, because as an only child I grew up in an adult world. I spent a lot time with my parents and their friends and a lot of time alone.”
But then she adds, “But at the same time I feel so immature. When I was coming here and we had a layover at Heathrow, they started asking me questions like, ‘Are you traveling with a guardian?’ I mean minors in England are sixteen! And I was like, ‘Oh, man!
“You see me with my nice hair and make-up answering serious questions, but I’m deluding you, I promise!” she jokes.
How about friends?
“I have wonderful friends. My parents always insisted I keep on with my education because growing up as an actor, you’re constantly pretending to be other people, and that can be really confusing when you’re trying to develop your own identity. It was their insistence I remain in school with my friends. Only in the summer was I allowed to do a movie. My friends went to camp, and I went to make a movie. So that gave me a great group of friends who were regular people. It didn’t feel like I was putting all my eggs in the acting basket, and if God forbid I couldn’t do it anymore, my life would be miserable. I have this wonderful life and even now, a project has to be a really good to take me away from that. I love my friends, my family, and my dog.”
Would she ever consider becoming a psychologist?
“I don’t think I’ll be a psychologist ever,” she jokes. “You find a lot of crazy psychology majors in college all trying to figure themselves out. For me, college was a wonderful thing to have at that period of my life from 18 to 21, which is such a crucial time when you’re defining yourself, figuring out who you are, finding your place in the world.”
She once had disparaging things to say about her friends.
“That was a long time ago and they were not my friends. They were the kids where I lived. We had a house in a predominantly white upper-middle class neighborhood. A lot of the kids there didn’t have a strong work ethic or personal values or personal goals. I didn’t find them interesting. I’m not saying you have be serious all the time, but it was hard having a conversation with them.”
So who are her friends now?
“The people I went to school with. And I always say, the best thing about Harvard was, they encourage you to spend time with your peers. They told us that when we got there. And they were the most amazing people my age I’ve ever met. Harvard supplied me with a school for life because my friends are doing such interesting diverse things with their lives.”
What are her interests?
“I’m really interested in politics. I’m interested in the rest of the world. I’m concerned about world poverty particularly the feminization of poverty. I’ve started working with a group called FINCA, which is a micro finance organization which gives small loans to very poor women. They’re in 22 different countries. I’ve been to Guatemala and Uganda this year meeting with some of our clients. I met a woman in Uganda who’s been in the program for ten years; she had ten daughters, her husband was beating her because she couldn’t give him a son. She was living on 80 cents a day. With her $50 loan, that’s all we provide, she now has her own business, and she hires seven other women. She was able to get rid of her husband and one of her children is going to university. So it’s been an incredible experience.”
Could she ever see herself becoming a director?
“That’s something that doesn’t intrigue me at all. It’s unbelievable the amount of work directors put into one film. I don’t know if I could dedicate myself so fully to one thing for so many years as George Lucas does.”
As a role model for young people, does she watch her diet?
“I don’t because I like food too much.”
What does she think of the media’s preoccupation with the Anorexic look?
“I think that image of the perfect skinny girl is really horrible. I’ve seen a lot of my friends stop eating or go on extreme diets, and it’s really scary. Let’s hope the trend is moving in the direction of actresses who are more voluptuous. They look healthy and have beautiful figures, and offer something positive for young girls.”
Did she enjoy working with Woody Allen?
“Woody was really great, but I don’t really think he knew who I was at all during the movie. He didn’t even know my name, but we had a lot of fun. It was a really fun cast and the last day when he came up to me and said, ‘I’m gonna see you at the re-shoots’; it turned out not to be me at all. It was some other girl that needed the reshoots, but he thought it was me.
“And he called me Nat-lee. He couldn’t pronounce my name right, so that’s all I can say. I didn’t get to know him too well, but he was really, really nice and considerate, and he’s very actor-oriented — he takes good care of his actors because he’s an actor. He knows what that’s like. You only have to do a scene once or twice and that’s it.”
And her next project?
“I’ve finished a film called The Smoker in which I play a high school student. Richard Linklater is directing, and Owen Wilson plays my teacher. I’m from a very weird family. I invite him over to dinner where I propose to him in front of my parents. It’s a bizarre big comedy so I’m excited about that.”
Earlier in the year she earned rave reviews for playing another “weirdo” in Zack Braff’s Garden State, for which she worked for scale.
What attracted her to that?
“I liked the script, and I watched Zack’s short film. Then when I met him I found him smart and funny and confident; he seemed to know what he was doing; so I thought that would be interesting.”
And her hobbies?
“I read a lot. I’ve been doing a lot of ballet recently. I also like scuba diving.”
What are her goals in life?
“The thing I learned at Harvard is not to make my goals public. Then you don’t disappoint people. There are many things I’m interested in doing, but I plan on talking about them only after I’ve done them.” she jokes.
For the record her other costar in Closer is Julia Roberts.
They were both in Woody Allen’s Everybody Says I Love You, but had no scenes together.
They have just one in Closer.