“Stars Wars” almost ruined Natalie Portman’s career and yet the actress would be ready to play Padmé again…
One day returning to Star Wars is almost a rite of passage for the actors of the saga. The heroes of the original trilogy, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford did it. Daisy Ridley is about to follow in their footsteps. And Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, two of the stars of the prequel did it too. Finally, all that’s missing is Natalie Portman!
That’s good, the Oscar-winning actress from Black Swan is up for it… even if Star Wars almost destroyed her career! Indeed, in 2001, when she distinguished herself on the stage on Broadway for an adaptation of The Seagull of Chekhov directed by Mike Nichols, no one wants to hire the actress. It was thanks to the late director that her career was ultimately saved, as she revealed in a 2014 interview with New York Magazine.
“Star Wars [La Menace Fantôme] came out around the time of The Seagull, and everyone thought I was a horrible actress. I was in the highest-grossing film of the decade and no director wanted to work with me. Mike wrote a letter to [son collègue réalisateur] Anthony Minghella and said, ‘Put her in Cold Mountain, I’ll vouch for her.’ And then Anthony forwarded me to [un autre réalisateur] Tom Tykwer, who passed me on to the Wachowskis [pour V pour Vendetta].”
Lucasfilm
Natalie Portman subsequently earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Closer in 2004, directed by Mike Nichols rightly, then won best actress six years later for her performance in Black Swan.
Ready to return to the starry universe
Last month, when she was a guest on the show Watch What Happens Live to promote his new film May December, Natalie Portman stated that “no one asked him” to return to Star Wars but that she was ready to answer the call favorably if Lucasfilm had an opportunity to offer her.
“I am open to that”, the actress said, recalling that her experience in the prequel trilogy was “incredible.” “It was the first time I worked digitally. I don’t think anyone was filming that way back then. It was the first time I worked with a green screen. It was a whole new set of skills to learn and a whole new world to enter and also, obviously, the whole Star Wars mythology that the whole country lives in. Being a part of that was awesome.”
Natalie Portman made her first appearance as Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace in 1999. The character met a tragic end in Revenge of the Sith in 2005, but not before giving birth to the famous Luke and Leia. Although Padmé’s death is permanent, Lucasfilm has proven over time that nothing is impossible in the saga, even if it seems difficult.
Taika Waititi offers Star Wars role to Natalie Portman
When Thor: Love And Thunder was released in 2022, the actress revealed that director Taika Waititi asked her to appear in his next Star Wars project… without remembering that she had starred in the prequel!
“He says he forgot because he asked me if I wanted to be in a Star Wars movie and I said, ‘I was.’”, declared the actress to GQ. “I thought he was joking. He’s such a joker that I thought it was a joke. And then later he said in an interview that he gritted his teeth afterwards.”
Natalie Portman can be found in May December, currently showing in your nearest cinema.
Check out his interview with Watch What Happens Live below: