by Nathaniel R
Natalie Portman in a new photoshoot for Diorskin ForeverWhat odd careers child stars eventually look back on. Natalie Portman was an instant sensation when she appeared in The Professional as a junior assassin. When the film was released late in 1994, Natalie was just 13 years old. She became an instant favorite for directors filling their prestige ensembles and by the time she was 18 she was a leading lady and also the mother of Luke & Leia (though the Star Wars prequels contain her worst acting by far). By 23 she was a Golden Globe winner and by 29 an Oscar Best Actress champ. Afterwards she receded as so many actresses who win Oscars in their twenties do (what is there left to strive for?) presumably enjoying their riches and in some cases their new domesticity. Pregnant during her Black Swan Oscar campaign, Portman & her ballet world husband Benjamin Millepied are now the parents of a five year old and she's not seen in public nearly as often as she once was.
(Fun Trivia: did you know that Portman, Millepied and their son Aleph all have birthdays in a single week every June?)
After the jump posters from all of her theatrical releases, except the ones where she played herself or only appeared in cameo or in a section of an omnibus film, and a few notes on her filmography.
How many have you seen?
Act 1 Teenage Prodigy (1994-1999)
Act 2 A List Breakthroughs, Oscar Nominee and Becoming a Leading Lady (1999-2004)
Chapter 3 Adult Stardom But Only Black Swan Truly Rises (2005-2011)
Chapter 4 Post-Oscar Malaise... But New Directions? (2011-Now)
Through it all the movies have been remarkably consistent in their spottiness. Her blockbuster forays have mostly been terrible (doesn't she seem totally bored in the Marvel movies? No wonder she's quit them) and her arthouse films quickly forgotten. But the rare bright spots are so blinding her star shines on. With the release of A Tale of Love and Darkness today, based on the memoirs of the famous Israeli writer Amos Oz, she begins a new chapter as writer/director (though she also plays the secondary role in the film as Oz's mother). She'd experimented behind the camera before for a segment in New York, I Love You (2008) so it appears she liked it.
What do we learn from her career seeing it all lined up like this?
How many of those 30 pictures have you seen?