Natalie Portman ashamed of her Ep1 performance.

[bigbarada]

In the April 12, 2002 issue of Entertainment Weekly, Natalie Portman is interviewed about her roll in Ep2 and she looks back at her role in Ep1. Two comments she made about Ep1 shed some light on why such a talented actress could turn in such a mediocre performance:

Ent. Weekly: "Rick McCallum says that Episode II was a much better experience for you than Episode I. How so?"

Natalie: "Episode I was really, really hard for me. Being 16, in London for the summer with no people my age, not knowing anyone there -- that was just really difficult. The weather was awful, and the studio was like this old factory -- it was just a very depressing summer."

EW: "When you look at your performance in Episode I, do you see how that tough time affected it?"

NP: "Absolutely. And I feel bad about it, because it was very unprofessional. When you're 16, it's easy to be selfish and go, 'I'm not having a good day and I can't deal.' Now I'm old enough to know this is my job. I have to put my own things aside."

I think it is pretty big of her to come back and say that she feels she didn't give the performance her all. When I saw her in Leon, I realized that she was a really gifted actress. So I guess I really expected a lot from her in TPM, unfortunately she gave a disappointingly flat performance. Somehow, though, just knowing that she knows her acting was substandard gives me new hope for her in EP2.

[2-1B]

I read that article too, good perspective B. :) I agree, cheers to her for learning and growing.

If she is better in AOTC, maybe we can be revisionists and see her turn in TPM as "reflective of the character's naivity, her difficulty in dealing with the burden of queenship" . . . or something like that . . . :D :D :D :rolleyes:

[bigbarada]

Originally posted by Caesar
I read that article too, good perspective B. :) I agree, cheers to her for learning and growing.

If she is better in AOTC, maybe we can be revisionists and see her turn in TPM as "reflective of the character's naivity, her difficulty in dealing with the burden of queenship" . . . or something like that . . . :D :D :D :rolleyes:

Or we can just say the Trade Federation Invasion took place at the exact same time that she was discovering the blessings of puberty.:eek::D

[JEDIpartner]

The "Burden" of puberty? Hmmm... sounds like a teen romance novel.

I'm glad she did admit to her performance being bad. I think it would have been worse, though if there were a less capable actor cast in that role. Her job was adequate... better than some of the other "phoned in" portrayals in the film! :mad:

[JediTricks]

Weird, I saw Ep 1 4 times on opening day and her name at the end credits always got the most applause. People felt she did the best work of all the actors in the film and I agree.

[187-Maul]

I actually liked her performance too
I never heard of her being bad in the movie until this thread...