The star said being sexualized as a child took away her own sexuality as she was afraid of it. She also claimed to be “boring”.
The 39-year-old actress took to Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast on Monday to talk about her childhood, parenting and the dangers of growing up as a star.
The Jerusalem-born ‘Garden State’ star turned 12 on the set of her first major film, ‘Leon: The Professional,’ in 1994, revealing to Shepard that she ‘didn’t allow the full expression of who I was. was”. at this moment”
Portman went on to explain how the industry affected his intimate development.
“Being sexualized as a kid took away my own sexuality because it scared me,” said the actress, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of a twisted femme fatale in ‘Black Swan’ and played similarly troubled characters in movies like “Beautiful Girls.” “, when I was 14 years old.
“So many people had this impression of me that I was very serious and prudish and conservative growing up,” Portman told Shepard during their 90 Minutes chat. “I cultivated it consciously because it was a way to feel safe. If someone respects you, they won’t oppose you.”
In 1997, Portman was offered the role of Lolita in Adrian Lyne’s film adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 book about a middle-aged man who becomes sexually involved with a 12-year-old boy.
She turned it down because of the overtly explicit content and because she didn’t want to be seen as a mockery in real life.
Refusing roles and refusing to do kisses or love scenes are among Portman’s self-defense techniques.
She lamented, “At this age, you have your own sexuality, you have your own desire and you want to explore things…but you don’t necessarily feel safe.” She added, “You build these fortresses.”
Even Shepard admitted to having a picture of Portman in his toolbox “for 12 years” and said, “I’ve become obsessed with you.”
The star, who married French dancer Benjamin Millepied, called herself “boring”.
Portman has already spoken on the subject. During the 2018 Women’s March of Los Angeles, the star said she was the victim of “sex terrorism”, noting that the local radio station had a countdown to her 18th birthday, “putting it mildly, the date on which it would be legal to sleep with”
Shepard pointed out that Portman has the “opposite trajectory” of many Disney stars, such as Miley Cyrus and Bella Thorne, who played well-defined roles on screen but then spilled over and overly owned their sexuality in public. .
“That’s totally true,” Portman said.
