The Star Wars prequels have received a fair amount of flak over the years… and now it seems that Natalie Portman blames the early episodes for almost ruining her career.
Back in 1997, a young Natalie Portman landed the coveted role of Padmé Amidala in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. But after previously starring in the likes of Leon, it seems she didn’t exactly fall in love with the script.
Although The Phantom Menace performed incredibly well at the box office, many fans and film-makers were less than impressed with her performance… and it looks as though she still hasn’t gotten over it.
During an interview with NY Mag, the 30-year-old Star Wars actress admitted that she blames the prequel movies for almost ruining her acting career.
“Star Wars had come out around the time of Seagull, and everyone thought I was a horrible actress,” she said. “I was in the biggest-grossing movie of the decade, and no director wanted to work with me.”
Of course, the Star Wars prequels weren’t exactly well-received… at least, not as well as the original trilogy. And after her rather wooden performance in The Phantom menace it looks as though most filmmakers wouldn’t touch her with a barge pole.
But thankfully, all that changed thanks to director Mike Nichols.
“Mike wrote a letter to Anthony Minghella and said, ‘Put her in Cold Mountain, I vouch for her’,” she said. “And then Anthony passed me on to Tom Tykwer, who passed me on to the Wachowskis.”
Thankfully, Hollywood gave Natalie Portman another chance… and she soon went on to reclaim her career with the rather stunning Black Swan. But it could have been s whole lot different if her Star Wars reputation hadn’t been shed.
Of course, many fans bemoan the original trilogy for its bad acting and over-reliance on CGI… and while I certainly see what they mean, I’m just glad Natalie Portman has managed to turn it all around.
But will we ever see her return to the galaxy far, far away?
After the introduction of the all-new Star Wars spin-offs, it was always a possibility… but after this shocking admission, I can’t help thinking that the chances of that happening are approximately 3720 to 1.
What do you think of Natalie Portman’s comments? Was Star Wars really responsible for almost killing her career? Let us know what you think in the comments below…
