Cover Story………
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"Storytelling is our way of developing empathy and practicing empathy. When we care about characters when we’re watching a movie or reading a book, it’s the practice of empathy.”
Of fables and fantasy NATALIE PORTMAN IS A MODERN DAY SUPERHERO, MUM AND NOW, AUTHOR. We’ve watched her grow up, evolve as an actress and play some of the most moving characters on the silver screen, as a Senator, swan and soon, superhero with a particularly poignant secret. Her diverse roles in blockbusters and independent films over the past 28 years have earned her multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Natalie Portman, actor, director and most recently, author, is at heart a storyteller, who says her passion for acting stems from her the human urge to “develop empathy and practise empathy”. Born Natalie Hershlag in Jerusalem to an American mother and Israeli father, she moved with her family to the US in 1984 settling in Syosset, Long Island, New York where her father established a fertility medicine practice. As often happens in the Big Apple, she was approached by a modelling agent in a pizza restaurant, which she turned down, but did engage an agent and pursue her interest in acting with several auditions in off-Broadway shows. At just 12-years-old, Portman auditioned for and was chosen for the part of
Mathilda in Luc Besson’s 1994 film, “Léon: The Professional”. She adopted her maternal grandmother’s maiden name in an effort to protect herself from unwanted attention as a result of the some of the film’s themes, which she later criticised for their sexualisation of the young French orphan. She told the entertainment media she experienced “sexual terrorism” after the film’s release, and that in the #MeToo era, “no one would make a film like Léon today”. While still at high school, she made her Broadway debut in a 1998 production of “Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl and then went on to international stardom when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). Focused on her education, and keen for a taste of the real world beyond acting, Portman attended Harvard University and completed a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, concurrently acting on stage and film – in Anton Chekhov's play The Seagull (2001) and the Star Wars prequel trilogy (2002, 2005). Continuing her education, gaining a degree and all the experiences that entails, were important to Portman, especially as an actor, as she told Business Insider magazine. “Going to college was amazing for me, mainly in terms of giving me a group of friends that are so interesting, and from such different backgrounds, and such different interests and went into different careers. 30 slim magazine Winter 2022
“We’ve been in each other’s lives now for 20 years and our kids are in each other’s lives. It’s just a remarkable gift because it is the first time in your life that you’re exposed to people outside your neighbourhood, and in a real meaningful, deep way. “That was really wonderful and reaffirmed my decision to be an actress for sure, because I think I had questioned it a lot and the seriousness of it and what it meant. I realised how much I loved it and how much I wanted to do it and how much I felt storytelling had meaning, which is related to the book as well. Storytelling is our way of developing empathy and practicing empathy. When we care about characters when we’re watching a movie or reading a book, it’s the practice of empathy.” Her career progressed with her starring roles as “V for Vendetta” (2005), Anne Boleyn in “The Other Boleyn Girl” (2008), and a troubled ballerina in the psychological thriller, “Black Swan” (2010), which emerged as a sleeper hit, grossing over US$329 million worldwide against a US$13 million budget, and earned Portman several coveted awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actress. She went on to star in the biopic about Jacqueline Kennedy in “Jackie” (2016), which earned her a third Academy Award nomination, and perhaps her most surprising role, as Jane Foster in the Marvel Cinematic
