Natalie Portman reflected on being ‘sexualised’ as a child that made her ‘afraid’ following ‘cringey’ movie

Natalie Portman made her debut at 13 years old

Natalie Portman has reflected on being ‘sexualised’ as a child, leaving her feeling ‘afraid’.

Now 43 years old, the actor began her career at the age of just 13 when she made her debut in Léon: The Professional. Portman played the young protégée of a hitman in the 1994 film, something she now has ‘complicated’ views on.

Having gone on to earn an Oscar and a Golden Globe after starring in the likes of Black Swan, Closer, Jackie and May December, she now calls her debut movie a little ‘cringey’.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: “It’s a movie that’s still beloved, and people come up to me about it more than almost anything I’ve ever made, and it gave me my career.”

She made her debut at 13. (CAMBOULIVE/Sygma via Getty Images)

However, she added: “But it is definitely, when you watch it now, it definitely has some cringey, to say the least, aspects to it. So, yes, it’s complicated for me.”

The film’s director, Luc Besson, has faced allegations of sexual abuse over the years and in 2023, he was cleared of all rape charges from a 2018 case involving an actress.

He denied all the allegations made against him.

And Portman called it ‘devastating’. “I really didn’t know,” she added. “I was a kid working. I was a kid. But I don’t want to say anything that would invalidate anyone’s experience.”

Appearing on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast back in 2020, the star said her early roles led to her being painted as a bit of a ‘Lolita figure’.

She made herself seem a prude. (Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images)

After her debut in 1994, she went on to play 13-year-old Marty in Beautiful Girls, contributing to her earning a name playing the ‘dark, kind of sexy, young girl role’ in films.

“Being sexualised as a child, I think, took away from my own sexuality because it made me afraid,” she said.

“It made me feel like the way I can be safe is 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.’”

Portman explained she built ‘fortresses’ to protect herself, while projecting an image of being a ‘prude’.

“I realise I consciously cultivated that because it was a way to make me feel safe,” the actor explained. “‘Oh, if someone respects you they’re not going to objectify you’.”