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PT Does Natalie Portman hate Star Wars?

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by The Emotional Jedi, Apr 10, 2022.

  1. The Emotional Jedi

    The Emotional Jedi Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    May 18, 2021
    I’ve been having this doubt in my head for some time, so I thought it would be useful to open a thread and directly ask you what you think.

    Am I the only one who, over time, has gotten the impression that Natalie Portman is ashamed of what she did in Star Wars? I don’t know why, but ever since I started defending the Prequels from the attacks of the OT purists, and ever since I started researching the Prequels looking at the behind the scenes and the interviews, I’ve always gotten the impression that Natalie is ashamed of Padmé. After she finished Star Wars, in the following years, whenever someone asked her to comment on what she did in Star Wars, I always gotten the impression that she was forcing herself to say that she liked it, even though she doesn’t really think so. Natalie doesn't behave like Ewan McGregor for example. Ewan always proudly defends what he did in the Prequels, he walks with his head held high. But Natalie seems a little forced when she talks about it, almost as if she want to say that it sucked but she don't want to say it publicly.

    Probably this doubt of mine comes from a certain amount of ignorance, because obviously I havenn't read and seen all the interviews that have been made to her, so I could very well be wrong. That’s why I ask you directly, because maybe you're more experienced in the subject and you can tell me if I’m wrong. The truth is, I really care about what she thinks because I love Padmé so much, and If she hates her, even if it’s just a little bit, then I can't do anything but feeling bad about that. Actually, I don’t even call myself a Natalie fan and I don’t care about her opinion in general, in fact, I often disagree with many of the things she says. But I'm interested in her opinion on this particular subject, because it's a subject that touches me closely.
     
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  2. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    I wouldn't say she hates it or is ashamed; but she seems to have moved on from it and doesn't discuss it much. But I'm just guessing.
     
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  3. Dandelo

    Dandelo SW and Film Music Interview Host star 10 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Aug 25, 2014
    she's a parodox, she seems jolly when talking about it in BTS stuff

    but by her performance it's like an entirely different story. It's certainly strange for sure
     
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2022
  4. Samnz

    Samnz Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2012
    No, she doesn't hate Star Wars, that's pretty safe to say.

    We don't really know what she feels exactly, though. From what we seem to know, she appeared to have had a hard time taking the backlash after the immediate release of the Prequels - probably much like other cast members, which is what J.W. Rinzler alluded to in his short-lived blog. Then also in the first years after the Prequels came out, there was a time when I think it's natural for actors to distance themselves a bit from their most famous work so far, because they don't what to be typecast and just move on.

    Nowadays I think she is a lot more relaxed, being older and probably more formed both as an actress and as a person. She even dressed herself up again as Queen Amidala in 2018, although I don't know if it's allowed to post that video here due to language (just go to YouTube an search for "Natalie Portman as Padmé Amidala on SNL"). As a compensation for not posting the video, there was another interview in 2019 that probably gives you a pretty good idea on how she feels about her tenure in the Lucasverse nowadays:
     
  5. themoth

    themoth Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 5, 2015
    Maybe she doesn’t want to be solely defined as Padme? Either way, I’m cool with however a performer wants to approach their roles. I always have the films to enjoy and go down memory lane.
     
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2022
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  6. darthvader88

    darthvader88 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 29, 2005
    Add to that she was in her late Teens-Early 20's when she played Padme, and continues to get roles. She might think she wasn't as good as she could have been...

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
     
  7. wobbits

    wobbits Force Ghost star 4

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    Apr 12, 2017
    She's given interviews where she complained about the PT films and the backlash almost ending her career. She said that one director gave her a shot afterwards and then he vouched for her for two other projects.

    I don't think she hates Star Wars exactly but I don't think it's high on her personal list of work she's proud of.
     
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  8. darthvader88

    darthvader88 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 29, 2005
    I seem to recall a program titled Bring Back Star Wars where this British guy traveled around and tried to get the Star Wars Actors back together for a reunion back in 2008-2009. Carrie Fisher was in that program, and I believe she commented that at one point, Mark Hamill was jealous of Harrison Ford's movie career, and at a few times he was Typecast and couldn't get many live action roles...

    So I think it worked for every trilogy so far..Actors may get typecast or not many roles and may come to resent their role in Star Wars. But over time, they come to embrace it...

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
     
  9. JEDI-RISING

    JEDI-RISING Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 15, 2005
    she doesn't do that much press in general so i've never had a gauge on what she felt.
    As for Ewan, he might be enthusiastic, but he's taken some jabs at the films.
     
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  10. Deliveranze

    Deliveranze Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2015
    Ewan has definitely felt insecure about his role in the PT and I think he would admit that too. I think both Natalie and Ewan had a harder time with adapting to Lucas’s more archaic style. I don’t think it’s too much surprise that out of the 3, Hayden seems to have been the closest to Lucas (even showing up to do a SW press tour in China in 2013 and showing up to Lucas’s wedding). There was a quote from Hayden in 2008 during Jumper where he said he’s more interested in seeing how his role is viewed in 20 years and that’s where the legacy of his performance matters.
     
  11. KyleKartan

    KyleKartan Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 4, 2004
    From October 2020:



    She seems to be very ok with them :)

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2022
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  12. ezekiel22x

    ezekiel22x Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 9, 2002
    Maybe? But I suspect she'd be a bit more positive given where the PT is these days. She seems like someone who kind of goes with the current public pulse. I recall she was kind of down on Garden State in recent years, as that type of film has gone from cool to vaguely "problematic," but I could see that coming back as well before too long.
     
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  13. Alpha-Red

    Alpha-Red Chosen One star 7

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    Apr 25, 2004
    Really? Even if Star Wars wasn't her best work, I would have thought that getting such a high-profile role would only help her career.
     
  14. Thomas Heath

    Thomas Heath Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Mar 30, 2022
    BAZ Deletion: Non-sequitur and inappropriate as it refers to Portman's face.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 18, 2022
  15. cantthinkofone

    cantthinkofone Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2020
    she doesnt hate Padme, its just that she moved on to other roles. same thing with the rest of her roles. she is playing a character in a story, and when its done, you move on to the next story.
    same thing with Harrison Ford.

    Ewan Mcgregor has the "star wars curse" where you cant get a job after that role. so he is talking about the biggest role he had.
    Mark Hamill is even worse, he is HUGE in the dubbing world. adored by comics-batman fans and known for doing many characters in cartoons and possibly the best joker overall, including live action. but he is still stuck with star wars, because its the biggest role he had. and that is really sad, because he should be proud of his dubbing career.

    but when these actors are doing an interview, the questions are always about star wars.



    Hayden christensen did get jobs, he just hated the spotlight of the celebrities, so he became a farmer with his wife and family.
    he is happier than ever.
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2022
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  16. The Emotional Jedi

    The Emotional Jedi Jedi Knight star 3

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    May 18, 2021
    Hayden is not married. But well, I get your point.

    Well, I only know her for Star Wars. I mean, I know Natalie played other roles in other films, but I was never interested in watching the other films she made. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who tends to associate the actors with certain characters and who no longer want to see certain actors in other films once they have played certain characters. Natalie is Padmé for me. I don’t care about the other films she made, for me she’s Padmé and she will always be Padmé. That’s it. The same applies to Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor as well.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2022
  17. Kato Sai

    Kato Sai Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2014
    Yes she hates them because Padme was suppose to turn to the dark side in ROTS:

    [​IMG]

    And instead she had to express her darker self in “Black Swan.”

    :p
     
  18. cantthinkofone

    cantthinkofone Jedi Knight star 2

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    Apr 6, 2020
    oh really ? i thought rachel bilson is his wife.
     
  19. The Emotional Jedi

    The Emotional Jedi Jedi Knight star 3

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    May 18, 2021
    Lmao.

    No, they were together and have a daughter but they were never married. They broke up in 2017.
     
  20. Alpha-Red

    Alpha-Red Chosen One star 7

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    Apr 25, 2004
    I mean, I'm sure I'll always associate them with Star Wars as well...but my point is that Star Wars gave them name recognition, which is generally a good thing.
     
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  21. Kato Sai

    Kato Sai Chosen One star 8

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    Apr 27, 2014
    Same for Hayden, I suddenly recognized him in Life is A House, and etc.
     
  22. Huttese 101

    Huttese 101 Sam Witwer Enthusiast star 7

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    Jan 19, 2016
    Portman has always seemed a little ashamed of her work in the prequels, which would ordinarily reflect poorly on Star Wars, except... after the TROS press junket... well, it could be worse. You could have the entire cast exhausted with the idea of acting in a series of Star Wars movies.
     
  23. Kato Sai

    Kato Sai Chosen One star 8

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    Apr 27, 2014
    Star Wars always launches one star to stardom. The OT was Harrison Ford, PT was Natalie Portman, and ST was Adam Driver.
     
  24. Huttese 101

    Huttese 101 Sam Witwer Enthusiast star 7

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    Jan 19, 2016
    Yeah, but Harrison Ford hated his character too.
     
  25. Kato Sai

    Kato Sai Chosen One star 8

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    Apr 27, 2014
    Maybe that’s tradition then? I think Adam Driver at times has hated on Kylo. “When I saw my costume and lightsaber, which looked like rag tag and stripped down Vader, I was crap! This sucks!” (Paraphrase).
     
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