Though she’s just 23 years old, it seems like Natalie Portman has been around for ages. In actuality it’s been 10 years since the always-in-demand actress made her film debut in “The Professional,” followed by a string of critical and commercial successes that includes “Beautiful Girls,” three “Star Wars” prequels and “Cold Mountain.” Between acting gigs, Portman found time to earn a degree in psychology from Harvard University. The brainy beauty’s latest film, “Garden State,” is an engaging romantic comedy that co-stars Zach Braff and Peter Sarsgaard.
QUESTION: What’s usually the first indication that a role is right for you?
Natalie Portman: I can always tell when I’m reading a script that if I start saying the lines out loud as I’m reading it, that it’s something I’m excited to do.
Q: Your “Garden State” co-star, Zach Braff, also wrote and directed the film. How would you rate him as a triple threat?
NP: He was great — so confident and relaxed, especially for being a first-time director. He really moved fluidly between the roles of writer, director and star of the film.
Q: You went from doing a huge film — “Star Wars, Episode 3” — to a little independent that was shot on a shoestring budget in less than a month. Was it a hard adjustment to make?
NP: On a big film, they’ve got enough time and money to take lots of time to set up a shot. So as an actor you wind up spending two hours in your trailer looking up at the ceiling. A lot of energy drains out during those times. One of the biggest challenges on big films is to keep yourself stimulated and involved while you wait. Smaller films, like (“Garden State”), you’ve just got to keep shooting. There’s so much energy, and you can feel it in the film.
Q: The scene in which you meet Zach’s character calls for him to have his leg “violated” by a horny German shepherd. Must have been a lot of fun shooting that one, eh?
NP: The dog had a two-part cue for humping: The mounting cue was “Love him up.” So the trainer would go, “Ice” — that’s the dog’s name — “love him up, love him up.” And the gyration cue was “Who’s your bitch?” So we kept losing it while Zach was getting, like, raped by this dog. It was the funniest thing.
Q: How have you applied things you learned in college to your career?
NP: To study psychology, which is learning about people, was really a great way to grow up and understand the world a little better, and to understand myself a little better. And as an actor, obviously there was much to learn — from so-called “normal behavior” to the deviations from that, which is what a lot of movies are about. When I’m working I always remember little weird tidbits from classes that help inform the characters.
Q: What’s the best part about being an actress?
NP: The thing I like most about this job is that I get to practice empathy. It’s practicing looking at someone else and saying, “What is your life like?” and “How do you feel?” It’s sort of the antithesis of what celebrity is like, too. Acting and celebrity are total opposites.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 30, 2004. Read the original PDF.