Everyone who knows me knows of my intense love for and admiration of Natalie Portman. I, like most others, never really thought twice of her until a few years ago when I had to write a paper comparing someone legendary to a modern-day representation of that person. Anyone who knows me also knows of my intense love for and admiration of the one and only Audrey Hepburn, so naturally I chose her as my legend. The challenge was finding someone who I felt was good enough to share a sentence with Ms. Hepburn. It came to me suddenly: who else has the grace, the talent, the sophistication, the intelligence, the simplicity, and the classic, timeless beauty? The more I researched Portman, the harder I fell. Last night, we saw the radiant mommy-
to-be accept her much-deserved Best Actress Academy Award for her role in Black Swan, for which she trained in ballet for a year and lost a ton of weight.
Many were pleasantly surprised by her raw portrayal of the downward-spiraling ballerina Nina Sayers in Black Swan, but what they may not have realized is that Portman has showed that kind of fearless potential before. So here I am to remind you that Portman was a superstar in her own right way before Black Swan.
- The Professional
This film may be completely off the radar to some not only because it wasn’t exactly a blockbuster smash, but also because it was released in 1994 when Portman was only 13 years old. The movie has come under plenty of heat for casting such a young girl in such a provocative role, but little did they know that young “Matilda” was actually a girl so smart and mature, she could more than handle it.
2.The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Portman was virtually unknown to a wide audience until she was cast as Queen Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars trilogy. Though this role did nothing for her prestige as a serious actress, it did it did play a big role in bringing her name (and adorable face) into the consciousness of American society.
3. Closer
Now we’re getting down to the nitty gritty. In this steamy independent movie, Portman came out of her shell a bit for the first time. She portrayed a stripper (yes, stripper) named Alice, and in one scene even exposed her naked crotch to Clive Owens’ character (though not to the audience). This role earned Portman her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and her first Golden Globe win for Best Supporting Actress.
4.V for Vendetta
We all know that Portman boldly shaved her head for this film and rocked the bald head proudly for months after that. But what’s really impressive was how little she thought of it. When asked on the red carpet how she mustered up the courage to do it, she replied matter-of-factly, “It’s just hair. It grows back.” She also hired a voice coach to work on her British accent. It was becoming clear that this girl would easily do damn near anything for her craft.
5. Hotel Chevalier This short film ran for only 13 minutes as a prologue to The Darjeeling Limited, but solidified Portman’s willingness to take a risk. After initially turning down her role in Anywhere But Here because it contained a sex scene, Portman, 8 years later, disrobed for an extended nude scene in this short film, for which she was praised.