Line #46 Creator/NataliePortman


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7	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/natalieportman_6.jpg]]
8
9	->''"I don't know if acting is what I want to do for the rest of my life, it's just what I've, you know, ended up doing when I was little, and I've kinda grown up with it."''
10
11	Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, June 9, 1981 in Jerusalem, [[UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} Israel]]), is an American actress, film producer and film director.
12
13	Her breakout role was Mathilda Lando in ''Film/TheProfessional'', and the role that raised her profile was Padmé Amidala in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequel trilogy. She has since been nominated for three MediaNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, one of which she won ([[MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestActressInALeadingRole Best Actress]] for her role of Nina in ''Film/BlackSwan'').
14
15	She was married to French dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied from 2012 to 2024. They have two children.
16
17	Portman has also become part of the growing list of celebrities who own stakes in American [[UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball soccer]] teams. In August 2020, she was announced as an investor in a group that was awarded a Los Angeles franchise, later unveiled as Angel City FC, that started play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022.
18	----
19	[[folder:Filmography]]
20	* ''Film/TheProfessional'' (1994) as Mathilda Lando
21	* ''Film/{{Heat}}'' (1995) as Lauren Gustafson
22	* ''Film/BeautifulGirls'' (1996) as Marty
23	* ''Film/EveryoneSaysILoveYou'' (1996) as Laura Dandridge
24	* ''Film/MarsAttacks'' (1996) as Taffy Dale
25	* ''Franchise/StarWars'' as [[Characters/StarWarsPadmeAmidala Queen/Senator Padmé Amidala]]:
26	** ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' (1999)
27	** ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' (2002)
28	** ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' (2005)
29	* ''Anywhere But Here'' (2000) as Ann August
30	* ''Film/WhereTheHeartIs'' (2000) as Novalee Nation
31	* ''Film/{{Zoolander}}'' (2001) (cameo)
32	* ''Film/ColdMountain'' (2003) as Sara
33	* ''Film/GardenState'' (2004) as Sam
34	* ''Film/{{Closer}}'' (2004) as Alice Ayres/Jane Jones
35	* ''Film/VForVendetta'' (2006) as Evey Hammond
36	* ''Film/GoyasGhosts'' (2006) as Inés Bilbatúa and Alicia
37	* ''Film/ParisJeTAime'' (2006) (in a short film)
38	* ''Hotel Chevalier'' (2007) (short film companion piece to ''Film/TheDarjeelingLimited'', she also has a very brief cameo in the latter)
39	* ''Film/MrMagoriumsWonderEmporium'' (2007) as Molly Mahoney
40	* ''Film/TheOtherBoleynGirl'' (2008) as Anne Boleyn
41	* ''New York, I Love You'' (2009) (also in a short film)
42	* ''Film/{{The Other Woman\|2009}}'' (2009) as Emilia Greenleaf
43	* ''Film/{{Brothers\|2009}}'' (2009) as Grace Cahill
44	* ''Film/BlackSwan'' (2010) as Nina Sayers/The Swan Queen
45	* ''Film/{{Hesher}}'' (2010) as Nicole (Also produced the film)
46	* ''Film/{{No Strings Attached\|2011}}'' (2011) as Emma Kurtzman
47	* ''Film/YourHighness'' (2011) as Isabel
48	* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse as Jane Foster:
49	** ''Film/{{Thor}}'' (2011)
50	** ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' (2013)
51	** ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' (2019) [[note]]Cameo from archive footage with some new lines dubbed in [[/note]]
52	** ''[[WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021 What If...?]]'' (2021)
53	** ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' (2022)
54	* ''Knight of Cups'' (2013) as Elizabeth
55	* ''Film/JaneGotAGun'' (2015) as Jane Hammond
56	* ''Film/{{Jackie}}'' (2016) as [[UsefulNotes/JacquelineKennedy Jacqueline "Jackie" Kennedy"]]
57	* ''Film/{{Planetarium}}'' (2016) as Laura Barlow
58	* ''Song to Song'' (2017) as Rhonda
59	* ''Film/{{Annihilation\|2018}}'' (2018) as Lena
60	* ''Film/VoxLux'' (2018) as adult Celeste Montgomery
61	* ''The Death and Life of John F. Donovan'' (2019) as Sam Turner
62	* ''Film/LucyInTheSky'' (2019) as Lucy Cola
63	* ''Film/MayDecember'' (2023) as Elizabeth Berry
64	* ''Lady in the Lake'' (TBA) as Maddie Schwartz
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	!!Portman's work provides examples of:
68
69	* ActionGirl: In several of her best-known roles, including Mathilda in ''Film/TheProfessional'' and Padmé in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequel trilogy, she proves to be really handy with a gun.
70	* AwesomeDearBoy:
71	** She did ''Film/VForVendetta'' because she'd wanted to shave her head for a while.
72	** Her reaction to ''Film/{{Thor}}'' - "Creator/KennethBranagh's directing ''Thor''? I've gotta do it" - and she loved the idea of playing a scientist, showing young girls that they could be scientists too if they wanted.
73	* CareerResurrection: Although ''Star Wars'' made her famous, her infamously wooden performance (now agreed to be the fault of Creator/GeorgeLucas's writing and directing) led to people doubting her acting abilities for years. It wasn't until ''Film/BlackSwan'' that she properly won her detractors over.
74	* CelebrityResemblance: To Creator/KeiraKnightley. This was exploited well before Knightley became a star in ''The Phantom Menace'', where she played the Queen Amidala's decoy. Both have said that when in full makeup and costume, their own mothers couldn't tell them apart. Creator/WinonaRyder is also sometimes mistaken for her.
75	* CelebrityVoiceActor: As Darcy in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.
76	* ClusterFBomb: In the SNL sketch "Natalie's Rap".
77	* CreatorBacklash:
78	** She has gone on retrospective record stating that she was unhappy with the contribution to the ManicPixieDreamGirl trope that many have taken her character in ''Garden State'' for.
79	** She was very disappointed that most of the critical and fan reaction to her role in Creator/WesAnderson's short film ''Hotel Chevalier'' focused on her having a nude scene, and decided to swear off doing them in the future (while she filmed several nude scenes for ''Closer'' prior to this, director Mike Nichols had cut them from the film).
80	---> "It really depressed me that half of every review ... was about the nudity."
81	*** That being said, she would later appear nude in the film ''Planetarium'', where she strips, sunbathes on a beach, and gets splashed with water while laying on her stomach and shown from the side. She had also done sex scenes in ''Black Swan'' and ''No Strings Attached'', but with no nudity.
82	** A similar reaction came from her role in ''Film/BeautifulGirls'', and she was uncomfortable with the reaction to her being a sex symbol while she was still underage. She turned down the role in ''Literature/{{Lolita}}'' because of it.
83	---> "And there's a surprising preponderance of that kind of role for young girls. Sort of being fantasy objects for men, and especially this idealized purity combined with the fertility of youth, and all this in one...so I definitely shied away from it."
84	** She signed onto the first ''Film/{{Thor}}'' movie under the impression that Creator/PattyJenkins (who would have been the first woman to direct a modern superhero movie and ironically enough ended up being that with ''Film/WonderWoman2017'') was to direct the sequel, ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''. When Jenkins left the project under amicable terms, Portman tried to leave with her, but she was contractually tied to the movie and had to stay. She was unhappy with the final product, especially with Jane being a love interest and LivingMacguffin. She's since come back around to the MCU starting in 2019[[note]]Right after the infamous Marvel Creative Committee that made most of the decisions she disagreed with was disbanded.[[/note]], with a cameo in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' [[note]]the cameo itself is re-used footage cut from ''The Dark World'' but she dubbed over a few new lines[[/note]] and a vastly-increased role in ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' (in which Jane becomes an ActionGirl who gets her own superpowers). In addition, she also was announced to be part of the cast of ''What If...?'' from the first season onward.
85	* DawsonCasting: She portrayed a 14-year-old Padme Amidala in ''The Phantom Menace'' when she was 16.
86	* DoingItForTheArt: She was so dedicated to ''Film/BlackSwan'' that she signed on before they even had a finished script. During production, the budget was tight, so Natalie told them to get rid of her trailer so they could afford a medic. She also paid out of her own pocket for all the extra ballet training.
87	* DyeingForYourArt:
88	** She shaved her hair off onscreen in one take for ''Film/VForVendetta''.
89	** She lost fifty pounds and did six months of ballet training for ''Film/BlackSwan''.
90	** She worked out extensively for ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' to build up her muscles to play [[ComicBook/Thor2014 The Mighty Thor]].
91	* EnforcedMethodActing: In order to drum up the resentment between Natalie and Creator/MilaKunis in ''Film/BlackSwan'', Darren Aronofsky pitted the two of them against each other. Reportedly, he kept telling each of them that the other was doing a better job.
92	* FakeBrit: She's done a few - ''Film/VForVendetta'', ''Film/TheOtherBoleynGirl'', and ''Film/YourHighness''. Fans are split over her accent in the former, but it's agreed that she improved over time.
93	* IAmNotSpock: "I Am Not Padmé Amidala."
94	* LawOfInverseFertility: A number of her roles are of a character who is in an unplanned pregnancy, probably most famous ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''. In at least one of her roles (''Film/TheOtherBoleynGirl'') she desperately wanted to get pregnant but couldn't.
95	* MsFanservice:
96	** Most notably in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', where she bares her midriff, thanks to ClothingDamage by a Nexu, and ''Hotel Chevalier'', where she is undressed to nothing but her socks when making love to Jason Schwartzman's character (she would have regrets on the latter). She also had several full nude scenes in ''Film/{{Closer}}'', but the director cut them from the movie (but she still plays a stripper and appears in skimpy outfits). Portman was also seen in a red bikini during a swimming scene in ''Film/GardenState''. Her other roles in movies such as ''Black Swan'', ''No Strings Attached'', ''Planetarium'' and ''Annihilation'' have her either in skimpy clothing or stark naked. ''Your Highness'' is another example, with her thong scene labeled by some as "the only reason to see the movie".
97	** She also posed nude for Dior's "What Would You Do For Love" albeit covered.
98	* OldShame:
99	** She has said that ''Franchise/StarWars'' almost "ruined her career" due to what was perceived as a bad performance, and that the only thing which helped her career turn the corner was Mike Nichols (who she'd worked with in a play) personally vouching for her to be cast in ''Film/ColdMountain''.
100	** But she regards ''Everyone Says I Love You'' as her worst performance, due to her inability to improvise.
101	** She has expressed regret for signing a petition in 2009 defending Creator/RomanPolanski.
102	* TheOtherMarty: She replaced Creator/EvaGreen in ''Closer''.
103	* PlayingAgainstType: As a flirtatious stripper in ''Film/{{Closer}}'' and a ManicPixieDreamGirl in ''Film/GardenState''. Hilariously she was also considered for the TropeNamer Claire in ''Film/{{Elizabethtown}}''.
104	* RoleReprise: Natalie said she was "done" with the MCU after ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''. She ended up changing her mind a couple years later and reprising the role of Jane Foster for ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' (sort of), ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'', and ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021''.
105	* RomanceOnTheSet: She married Benjamin Millepied, who was her dance instructor on ''Film/BlackSwan'', and had a small role as a man who turns up his nose when the director says "would you fuck that girl?"
106	--> ''Accepting her Golden Globe for Best Actress, with a clear baby bump''.
107	--> "He's the best actor. It's not true, he totally wants to sleep with me!"
108	* SeparatedAtBirthCasting: Of course Creator/KeiraKnightley in ''The Phantom Menace''. Keira later said that she would often double for Natalie in some scenes if she'd been tired and wanted to go home early.
109	* StageName: Her birth name is Neta-Lee Hershlag. Portman was her grandmother's maiden name. Since she started so young her parents wanted to protect her privacy as well as her dad’s medical practice/academic work. She did use the name "Hershlag" in one of the sketches when she hosted ''Saturday Night Live.''
110	* StarMakingRole: While she had been in several critically acclaimed movies for years beforehand (her film debut in ''Film/TheProfessional'' being the most notable), her role as Padme Amidala in ''Franchise/StarWars'' pushed her to household name status. Ironically, the same film almost ruined her career as an actor at the same time it was making her well-known.
111	* TeasingFromBehindTheLanguageBarrier: Used as a joke in an ''Inside the Actors Studio'' issue, where [[https://web.archive.org/web/20121117030415/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRbYwviutS8&gl=US&hl=en she said a line in Hebrew]] (at 31:06) and then, when asked of its meaning, playfully answered: "It's for me to know and you to find out". Since then, people on the Internet have been asking about it. (If you want to know, what she said is: [[spoiler:In a month, I'm going to Israel to study at the University.]]) Besides, she mentioned in an [[http://www.natalieportman.com/npcom.php?page_number=21&viewarticle=2&article_number=431 interview]] that she likes using Hebrew as a secret language.
112	* ThoseTwoActors:
113	** With Creator/JudeLaw in ''Film/ColdMountain'', ''Film/{{Closer}}'', ''My Blueberry Nights'' and ''Vox Lux''.
114	** With Creator/JuliaRoberts in ''Everyone Says I Love You'' and ''Closer''.
115	** She has starred with her ''Star Wars'' co-stars Creator/SamuelLJackson in ''Film/{{Thor}}'', Hayden Christensen in ''New York I Love You'', and Creator/EwanMcGregor and Joel Edgerton in ''Jane Got a Gun''.
116	** Pablo Larrain stated that the casting process of ''Jackie'' intentionally plays this trope. Most of the cast has worked with Portman at one point for screen chemistry's sake.
117	** Co-starred with Creator/SusanSarandon in ''Anywhere But Here'' and ''The Death and Life of John F. Donovan''.
118	* {{Typecasting}}: Can usually be found being cast either as a BrainyBrunette, a BrokenBird, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs or both]].
119	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
120	** Her StarMakingRole (see above) could've been much earlier. She was cast as [[Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet Juliet]] in ''Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet'' opposite Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio, except screen-tests apparently made it appear as though 21-year old [=DiCaprio=] was "molesting" the then 14-year old Portman (which is actually rather accurate to the original play: Juliet was ''thirteen'').
121	** Creator/ChristinaRicci said once that a lot of the movies she made during the late 90s-early 00s were films Natalie Portman had turned down, although she didn't say which films exactly. ''Film/TheIceStorm'' is one of them however.
122	** She was very enthusiastic about returning to her role as Jane Foster for ''Film/{{The Avengers\|2012}},'' but she was very pregnant at the time. Becomes sadder in retrospect when she would ''not'' enjoy her reprise of Jane in ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''.
123	** She turned down the role in ''Anywhere But Here'' initially because the script contained a sex scene for her character. Director Wayne Wong and Creator/SusanSarandon (who played her mother) insisted on a rewrite. When Natalie saw the rewrite, she signed on.
124	** She was cast as Lizzie Bennett in ''Film/PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'', but had to drop out and was replaced with Creator/LilyJames. She remained on as producer.
125	** She shot a nude scene for ''Film/{{Closer}}'' where Jane strips off in front of Larry. She and Mike Nichols decided not to use it, feeling the scene was effective enough without nudity.
126	** Creator/DavidFincher strongly considered her for Lisbeth Salander in his remake of ''Film/TheGirlWithTheDragonTattoo2011''. Natalie turned it down due to exhaustion and it ended up becoming a StarMakingRole for Creator/RooneyMara. Later in 2017, the reverse situation happened in ''Vox Lux'', where Rooney Mara was originally cast in the leading role before it went to Natalie.
127	** She turned down playing Gail Harris in ''Film/AllTheMoneyInTheWorld'', which instead went to Creator/MichelleWilliams. This also meant she avoided being caught up in the controversy when the film's original star Creator/KevinSpacey was revealed as a sexual predator.
128	** She was supposed to voice Nausicaa in the English dubbing of ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'', but the role eventually went to Alison Lohman.
129	** She was set to star in the Creator/{{HBO}} adaptation of Elena Ferrante's ''The Days of Abandonment'' but it was scrapped after she dropped out.

Context Creator / NataliePortman