The Star Wars prequel trilogy revolutionized the film industry with its introduction of more CGI visual effects and digital photography. The second episode of the trilogy Episode II – Attack of the Clones was one of the first films to be completely shot digitally as opposed to film, leading Hollywood into the digital age of filmmaking.
The films starred Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, Ewan McGregor, and Natalie Portman in lead roles. The film was one of Portman’s earliest roles where she played the role of Padmé Amidala. She reprised the role in all three films and reportedly had a tough time acting for the blue and green screens present on set.
Natalie Portman Had A Tough Time Adjusting To The Sets Of Star Wars
Natalie Portman was cast as Padmé Amidala in the first episode of George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel trilogy. The actress was reportedly a high-school senior at the time and had a few roles under her belt already. She was cast in the role for all three films in the series, which was a commitment that would last at least six years.
Portman revealed that she had no idea how big Star Wars was when she was cast in the franchise by Lucas and mentioned how she worked with the filmmaker to perfect the character. In an interview with CNN, she said,
“George worked with me a lot on changing my voice and my movement and the way I carried myself. We worked on this accent that … kinda goes to old, older generations of actresses who used kind of an unidentifiable accent. ‘Is it American or is it British?'”
The Oscar-winning actress also mentioned how she found it tough initially to perform on blue and green screens. The Star Wars prequel trilogy was known for its extensive use of CGI and digital effects as opposed to sets and hence, required a lot of blue-screen work from the actors. She said in an interview with Star Wars Insider,
“Working in front of a blue screen is the hardest kind of acting because everything is in your imagination. On stage, the best way to work is to let yourself go and be into it because you’ve got your set, your costumes, all the actors, and you’re working in sequence, so it’s easy to feel the situation.”
However, after her experience with The Phantom Menace and seeing the results, the actress reportedly got better at performing with a blue screen on the next episode’s sets.
Natalie Portman Never Realized How Big Star Wars Was Until She Was Cast
Actress Natalie Portman was cast as one of the most important characters in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Queen Padmé Amidala would go on to become the wife of Anakin Skywalker a.k.a Darth Vader and becomes the mother of Luke and Leia Skywalker, the protagonists of the original Star Wars trilogy.
Portman was reportedly chosen after auditioning from hundreds of actresses and George Lucas found her to have brought the energy of Leia to the role. Though the Black Swan star was happy about playing a powerful role as a Queen, she reportedly did not know how big Star Wars was. Talking to CNN, she said,
“I was very honored and excited to be presented with such a great opportunity. But I really wasn’t aware of how big a deal Star Wars was … and when I saw the films, I really liked them, but I still didn’t really understand how many … were passionate fans of this film.”
The actress also mentioned to Star Wars Insider how she felt that the sets of the epic space opera humbled her, as on other sets, the actors would usually be the center of attention. However, on the sets of Star Wars, everyone worked in tandem to make the film work on every level. She said,
“It’s great to be on a film like Star Wars because you realize how little a part of everything you are as an actor. Usually on films, you’re the center of attention, and being in Star Wars puts you in your place because you realize it still takes two years after you finish shooting until the film is done.”
Natalie Portman went on to say how watching the film after all the visual effects were done was a different experience as it would be very different from what they would have shot.
