Natalie Portman had never seen a ‘Star Wars’ film until she was cast for the franchise.
The 42-year-old actress played the role of Padmé Amidala in the 1999 prequel ‘The Phantom Menace’ and the sequels of 2002 and 2005. However, even though she was aware of the basics of the science fiction world, she had never actually seen the original trilogy.
Speaking to the ‘Radio Times’ magazine, Natalie admitted, “I didn’t know the movies at all before I was cast! I was aware of the jargon because American culture is so immersed in ‘Star Wars.’
Even if you’ve never seen the movies, you know what Princess Leia buns are, what a lightsaber is, what a Jedi is. You know who Yoda and Obi-Wan are. You know all these words and names before you’ve even seen the movies. But I only watched the movies when I was asked if I wanted to be in them.”
Natalie will be seen next in ‘May December,’ and although she was uncomfortable filming a sex scene for the movie, she was grateful to have an intimacy coordinator on board who guided her through the film. She said, “It’s never comfortable. And we just figured it out together.
I think we all had a very good, open communication. But I think intimacy coordinators can be really wonderful, especially in environments that are uncomfortable or hostile.
Having some kind of structure around it can be helpful.” Natalie actually felt less comfortable when director Todd Haynes told her she had to hold a snake. She said, “It was definitely a really simple garden snake! I remember Todd asking me, ‘Are you comfortable handling snakes?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely not!’ Then he said, ‘But you have to.’ And I said, ‘Okay, if I have to.'”
