What Natalie Did Next

Natalie Portman has been a star since childhood, but in recent years she has found a platform to speak strong truths about her industry – and herself.

- Fabrice Gaignault

MC: From an intense ballerina (Black Swan) to a US First Lady in mourning (Jackie), your film roles are always varied and challenging. What type of roles do you find most interesting?

NP: It changes constantly. At the moment I’m drawn to roles that are the complete opposite of who I am. I’ve just played a pop star in Vox Lux (out now) and an astronaut in Lucy In The Sky (out later this year), two occupations that were part of my dreams when I was 12 years old but are a long way from what interests me now (laughs). Like all kids, I liked to sing and dance along to bits of Madonna.

MC: The first film you ever made was the hit-man drama Léon: The Professional, catapulting you to stardom at just 13 years old. What advice would you give that young girl?

NP: Don’t try to please everyone. It took me a long time to move past that and focus on myself, instead of worrying about other people. I would say it took me until I was over 30 to work that out.

MC: What helped you get to that point?

NP: Finding the right partner [husband Benjamin Millepied] had a lot to do with it. Someone who listens, who is completely egalitarian, a life partner. Also, becoming a mother. Our children [son Aleph, 7 and daughter Amalia, 2] have changed my priorities by making me less available to other people. I had to learn to look after myself and my own.

MC: What did your mother teach you that you hope to pass on to your children?