Natalie Portman is most certainly one of the most popular actresses of all time, as she has portrayed a wide range of roles in quite a few films over the years. She began her career as a child, so Portman has been in the industry for a long time. Therefore, she is more than aware of the hardships a child star can face, especially as a young girl. Now it comes as no surprise the Thor star doesn’t want kids to become actors.
Natalie Portman has acted in iconic films such as Black Swan, Star Wars, Thor, and V for Vendetta, among others. Over the course of her career, fans have seen Portman continuously push herself with her roles – further cementing her legacy as a legendary actress.
Natalie Portman Has No Desire For Children To Become Actors
According to Marca, Natalie Portman has always been open about her experiences with the sexualization she encountered as a child actor, especially in Léon: The Professional, where she played a Lolita-type character alongside Jean Reno in her early teens. She portrayed Padme Amidala in the Star Wars franchise and felt she was excessively sexualized even in those films. Despite these challenges, Portman acknowledged that she was fortunate to grow up in a protective environment and had the backing of wonderful parents – something that a lot of child stars do not.
While speaking to Variety, Natalie Portman was asked about the life of a child actor and if she would recommend it to other kids. Portman made it clear she would never recommend that, making it clear that her kids would never become actors.
“I would not encourage young people to go into this. I don’t mean ever; I mean as children. I feel it was almost an accident of luck that I was not harmed, also combined with very overprotective, wonderful parents. You don’t like it when you’re a kid, and you’re grateful for it when you’re an adult. I’ve heard too many bad stories to think that any children should be part of it. Ultimately, I don’t believe that kids should work. I think kids should play and go to school.”
Many agree that Portman’s case is unique, considering the challenges faced by many other child stars. Examples such as Drew Barrymore and Macaulay Culkin faced a lot of struggles as child stars, with Culkin quitting the world of acting for good.
Natalie Portman Started Out Young Herself
Natalie Portman began her acting journey at the age of 13 with Léon: The Professional in 1994, going on to perform in more films such as Beautiful Girls in 1996, and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 1999, where she was only 18.
Due to her acting at such a young age, she honed her craft early on and it is reflected in her later films. After all, being a child star served to improve her acting skills but it also had its own fair share of issues as well. After all, being a young girl in the movie industry is not necessarily the easiest thing at all. Regardless, Naalia Portman will continue to speak her mind no matter what and that’s unlikely to ever change.
