Natalie Portman says children shouldn’t work in Hollywood after she was ‘sexualized’ in her first film at 12

celebrities

by Samantha Ibrahim

Natalie Portman began her illustrious feature film career when she was just 12 years old, starring in Luc Besson’s Léon: The Professional.

However, the Oscar winner, now 42, doesn’t believe children should work in Hollywood.

“I don’t encourage young people to go into this. I don’t mean never; I mean as kids,” Portman recently told Variety.

Portman does not regret starting her acting career in her pre-teen years because her parents were able to keep an eye on her while she was on set.

“I feel like it was almost a coincidence that I didn’t get hurt, in addition to my father’s very wonderful protection,” the “Thor” actress explained.

“You don’t like it when you’re a kid, and you’re grateful for it when you’re an adult,” she added. I’ve heard so many bad stories that I don’t think any child should be a part of it.

“At the end of the day, I don’t think kids should work,” Portman declared. “I think children should play and go to school.”

Portman is now a mother to two children, Alif, 12, and Amalia, 6, but her comments indicate that her offspring will not follow in her child star’s footsteps.

Aside from starring in the 1994 thriller, she also appeared as Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace when she was still in high school.

Her other early roles include the dramas “Beautiful Girls” in 1996 and “Where the Heart Is” in 2000.

The Marvel actress previously spoke about her teenage life in the spotlight.

Portman appeared on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast in 2020, and noted that being 12 years old on the set of “Leon” “didn’t allow me to fully express who I was at the time.”

She continued: “Sexualization as a child deprived me of my sexuality because it made me feel afraid.”

Portman later recalled that many people “had the impression of me that I was very serious and cautious and conservative as I got older.”

“I consciously cultivated that because it was a way to make me feel safe. If someone respects you, they won’t objectify you.”

“At that age you have your own sexuality, you have your own desire and you want to explore things… but you don’t necessarily feel safe. You build these fortresses,” she sighed.

In 2018, Portman recalled how males hypersexualized her when she was a teenager. She told the Women’s March how when she opened her fan mail, there were rape fantasies written about her by men.

“My local radio show has started counting down to my 18th birthday, the date on which it will be legal for me to sleep,” Portman revealed. “Movie reviewers talked about my budding breasts in the reviews,” Portman revealed.