Natalie Portman's Concern for Privacy: Choosing Roles without Topless Scenes
Natalie Portman firmly rejects showcasing her bare chest in acting roles, prioritizing her children's online experience She safeguards their innocence by refusing to be part of explicit content
Natalie Portman Kevin Winter/WireImage/Getty Images
After almost three decades in the acting industry, Natalie Portman has a crucial rule when it comes to choosing her roles, and it revolves around her two children.
During a recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, the 42-year-old Star Wars actress participated in a "Pop Quiz" and revealed one thing she would never do for a role.
After Portman's comment, "That's a good one," she followed up with, "Um ... expose my breasts? Is that really being prudish?"
Barrymore, who is 48 years old, quickly chimed in, "No, it's not!" Portman then clarified her response.
The Oscar winner expressed her concern, saying "I don't want my kids to see pictures online." She shares her son Aleph, 12, and daughter Amalia, 6, with her estranged husband Benjamin Millepied. In response, Barrymore, who had her first topless scene in the 1993 film Doppelganger at the age of 18, stated "I didn't know there'd be an 'online' when I did it."
“I told them, ‘Good luck trying to find that magazine under some creepy guy’s bed in a random house!’” Barrymore quipped, adding, “But no judgment, darlings.”
Like Portman, Barrymore also started acting at a young age. Portman's first breakout role was in the 1994 film Leon: The Professional when she was only 13, and the next year she appeared in Heat alongside Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. She continued to work steadily as a child, but she doesn't foresee her own children pursuing careers as child actors.
"It's not something I would advocate for young people. Not at all; especially not as children," Portman shared on Variety's Awards Circuit Podcast on November 23.
"I think it was mostly luck that I came out unharmed, along with the constant care of my wonderful, overprotective parents," she continued. "As a child, you may not appreciate it, but as an adult, you are grateful for it."
At the 2018 Women's March in Los Angeles, Portman spoke out about how the success of Leon: The Professional resulted in unwanted attention to her sexuality at a young age.
"When the film was released when I was 13, I was excited that my work and art would receive a positive response. Instead, I received fan mail with a rape fantasy and a countdown to my 18th birthday, when I would be legal to sleep with," Portman revealed. "Movie reviewers even commented on my developing body in reviews."
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Despite acknowledging that conditions for child actors have gotten better, Portman is unwavering in her decision not to allow her children to act while they are young. She has heard too many negative experiences to consider it a viable option for children. Although she acknowledges that there have been discussions and increased awareness around the issue, she ultimately believes that children should not be working and instead should focus on playing and going to school.
