Natalie Portman Says ‘Being Sexualized As A Child’ Made Her Feel Unsafe & Afraid

Natalie Portman opened up about the tragic way her roles have affected her over the years. The actress appeared as a guest on the Armchair Expert podcast along with host Dax Shepard.

She revealed that playing sexualized characters at the start of her career had a deceptive impact on her. The actress began her acting career when she was 12, as she discussed her role in Beautiful Girls back in 1992. In the movie, her 13-year-old character begins a relationship with a man, played by Timothy Hutton.

Natalie revealed that it was clear to her that she was being defined as a “Lolita figure”. This was a reference to Vladimir Nabokov’s classic novel from 1955 which is about a girl who engages in a sexual relationship with a much older man.

The Thor actress shared, “Being sexualized as a child, I think, took away from my own sexuality because it made me afraid, and it made me like the way I could be safe was to be like, ‘I’m conservative,’ and ‘I’m serious and you should respect me,’ and ‘I’m smart,’ and ‘Don’t look at me that way.’”

Natalie further shared that at that age, one has their own sexuality and that people have their own desire as they want to explore things and one does not want to be open. The actress shared that she did not feel safe especially when older men are involved.

She shared, “But you don’t feel safe, necessarily, when there’s, like, older men that are interested, and you’re like, ‘No, no, no, no.'” The Thor alum has launched her career with the 1994 thriller, The Professional. She shared that her feelings caused her to put up defenses.

Not ‘Lady Thor’, But, ‘Mighty Thor’

“When I was in my teens, I was like, ‘I don’t want to have any love scenes or make-out scenes,'” she said. “I would start choosing parts that were less sexy because it made me worried about the way I was perceived and how safe I felt.” The actress, however, concludes that she was able to find a safe space for herself.

Natalie Portman is set to make a banging return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the much anticipated, Thor: Love and Thunder. The Oscar-winning actress revealed that she is particularly excited to become the first female to play the titular character.

Portman also pointed out that her version of Thor is not considered “Lady Thor” but rather “The Mighty Thor.” Exactly a year ago, at San Diego Comic-Con, the 39-year-old actress revealed that she will return as Jane Foster. This particular story-line will be following a 2015 comic book arc where Foster wields the mystical hammer, Mjolnir, and becomes The Mighty Thor.

“She’s actually The Mighty Thor,” the actress told tennis legend, Serena Williams, in a recent Instagram Live Chat on Saturday. “The comics had the female Thor when Jane became Thor, and she’s The Mighty Thor,” Natalie clarified.

Time To Get Jacked!

In a chat with Williams, Portman spoke about the delay in production due to the coronavirus pandemic. “We haven’t started,” the actress said of filming. “More time to get jacked. Which I have not. I’ve got the carbo-loading down, but not the exercise part,” Natalie joked.

Despite the production delays, Portman revealed that she is “Super excited” for the new film. Which she said will begin shooting in Australia in early 2021. “Obviously everything is weird because of pandemic time, who knows what’s happening,” she said. “It will be exciting and I’m interested to see if I can gain muscle for the movie.”