Star Wars actress Natalie Portman recently reflected on her time playing Padmé Amidala, stating that she feels “blessed” to have been a part of the huge franchise despite the backlash at the time of the prequels’ release.
Portman starred as Padmé Amidala in all three Star Wars prequels, including The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. While audiences’ reactions when the prequels came out were “harsh” and “hard” to deal with, the actress still considers herself lucky to be a part of the beloved epic space opera franchise.
“I see it as an extraordinarily lucky thing to have been part of,” the actress told TotalFilm. “I know how meaningful it is for people. And, every day, still, people are like, ‘I just watched it with my kids.’ To be part of something like that that’s part of that cultural mythology, and part of people’s childhoods, in such a vibrant way, is so, so lucky.”
The actress also shared that people have grown to appreciate the prequels over time.
“I think obviously with the reaction to them when they came out, being as harsh at it was — it was hard. And obviously, over time they’ve gained more appreciation, which has been nice, to always feel the balm of time. But, yeah, I feel very blessed to have been part of that, at that moment in my life,” she added.
Star Wars catapulted Natalie Portman’s career to new heights
Though the Academy Award-winning actress had been in the industry since the Star Wars prequels came out, she gained international recognition when she starred as Padmé Amidala in 1999’s The Phantom Menace. Since then, she has gone on to star in high-profile movies — most of which are critically acclaimed — including V for Vendetta, Closer, Black Swan, Thor, Jackie, Vox Lux, Annihilation, May December, and more.
Portman can next be seen as the wannabe investigative journalist Maddie Schwartz in Apple TV+’s upcoming limited series Lady in the Lake, set to arrive on July 19, 2024.
(Source: GamesRadar)
