Fun Trivia : Portman, Natalie

Structure Sub-topic of: Celebrities N-P Quizzes Interesting Questions, Facts and Information There are a total of 15 general entries.

Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

Portman, Natalie

When was Natalie Portman born?

Natalie Portman


June 9, 1981. Natalie was born Natalie Hershlag in Jerusalem, Israel on June 9, 1981 to Avner and Shelley Hershlag. She shares a birthday with my favorite actor, Johnny Depp (1963) as well as Michael J. Fox (1961). Her family moved to Washington, D.C. when Natalie was three years old and then to New York, where she spent her childhood.



What prestigious, Ivy League university did Natalie graduate from in 2003?

Natalie Portman


Harvard University. Natalie graduated from Harvard in 2003, with a Bachelor's degree in psychology. In 2005, Natalie pursued graduate studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. She was credited as a research assistant for Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz's "The Case for Israel". In March of 2006, she made an appearance as a guest lecturer for the Terrorism and Counter-terrorism course at Columbia University where she discussed themes from her 2006 film, "V for Vendetta". In addition to speaking English and Hebrew, Natalie also studied and/or can speak (to some degree) French, Japanese, German and Arabic.



Natalie made her powerful film debut in the 1994 thriller "Léon" (known as "The Professional" in the USA). What charcter did Natalie play in this film?

Natalie Portman


Mathilda. Originally, Natalie was turned down for the role of Mathilda (a young girl who seeked the help of a professional assassin in getting revenge for her brother, who was killed by a crooked cop) for being too young, but after she gave a brilliant performance in auditions, Luc Besson (director) decided to cast Natalie in the role.



Natalie played a pregnant Novalee Nation, in "Where the Heart Is" (2000), driving across the country with her boyfriend. When they stopped at a store so that she could use the bathroom (and purchase shoes), he abandoned her, leaving her with nothing but her Polaroid camera and $5.55 (and five was her unlucky number). At which store did her boyfriend, Willy Jack (Dylan Bruno), leave Novalee?

Natalie Portman


Wal-Mart. "Where the Heart Is" was based on the best-selling novel by Billie Letts. This film also starred James Frain as Forney, the eccentric but extremely smart young man who delivered Novalee's baby girl, Americus, in Wal-Mart. Novalee made friends with two local women (Stockard Channing as Sister Husband, a religious but promiscuous woman and Ashley Judd as Lexie, a single mother with four kids who had trouble finding a decent man) and the Wal-Mart photographer (David Keith). For this performance, Natalie was nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice Actress - Film (2000), and the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress (2001). Natalie won the YoungStar Award for Best Young Actress - Performance in a Motion Picture Comedy (2000).



In 2002, Natalie won the Teen Choice Award for Choice Actress in a Drama/Action Adventure Film for her performance in what movie?

Natalie Portman


Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. Once again, Natalie was nominated for a number of awards for her performance as Senator Padmé Amidale in this 2002 film. The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror (2003) nomination was for Best Actress. (She was no longer relegated to the category of "younger actress".) Other than the one Teen Choice Award that Natalie won for her role, she was also nominated that year (2002) in the category of Choice Chemistry in a Film with co-star Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker). The people behind the Razzie Awards obviously didn't agree and nominated Natalie and Christensen for Worst Screen Couple (2003). Natalie picked up another nomination at the Razzies that year for Worst Supporting Actress.



For which part in "Cold Mountain" (2003) did Natalie originally audition?

Natalie Portman


Ada. Natalie appeared in "Cold Mountain" as Sara, a supporting character that Inman (Jude Law) met when he traveled home to Cold Mountain. Though she originally auditioned for the role of Ada Monroe (the woman who Inman left behind when he went to fight in the Civil War), the role was given to Nicole Kidman. Renée Zellweger played Ruby Thewes. Though Natalie was not nominated for any awards for her performance in this film, the movie itself picked up Best Film nominations at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Awards, BAFTA Awards, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, Empire Awards, Golden Globe Awards and the PGA Golden Laurel Awards (all in 2004).



Natalie received her first Golden Globe Award for what movie?

Natalie Portman


Closer. "Closer" (2004) starred Julia Roberts, Jude Law and Clive Owen as well, and was directed by Mike Nichols, who also directed Natalie in the stage play "The Seagull." The movie was about two London couples and their adventures in swapping partners. Law played Dan, a mediocre obituary writer who met Alice (Natalie) when he saved her life on a busy London street one day. After moving in together, Alice inspired Dan to write a book and while being photographed for the book jacket, Dan met Anna (Roberts) and instantly developed feelings for her. Upon being rejected, Dan tried to play a cruel joke on her, unknowingly setting her up with a dermatologist names Larry (Owen). At the 2005 Golden Globe Awards, Natalie picked up the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture. Her co-star, Clive Owen, picked up a Golden Globe in the supporting actor category. Other awards that Natalie won for her performance as Alice included the National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble (shared with Owen, Law and Roberts) and the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress (both in 2004). She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (2005). Natalie was also nominated in the same category at the BAFTA Awards (2005), Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2005), Online Film Critics Society Awards (2005), and the Satellite Awards (2005). Her 2005 nomination for Choice Female Actress at the Teen Choice Awards was for her performances in "Closer" and "Garden State".



For her role in what 2005 film was Natalie asked to speak with a British accent and to shave off all of her hair?

Natalie Portman


V for Vendetta. Natalie was chosen for the role of Evey over other young actresses such as Scarlett Johansson and Bryce Dallas Howard. Set in futuristic, totalitarian Britain, Evey (Natalie) was rescued one night by a masked vigilante known only as V (Hugo Weaving). She found herself an unlikely ally in his plot to bring freedom and justice back to society. She has stated that she looked forward to shaving her head for the movie, as she had wanted to do that for a long time. As for the English accent, Natalie worked with dialectologist Barbara Berkery (who has worked with Geoffrey Rush, Kate Hudson and Gwyneth Paltrow). Natalie picked up another Teen Choice Award nomination in the category of Choice Actress: Drama/Action Adventure Movie (2006).



In one movie, Natalie's character declared, "He's not my father. He's my lover." Which movie was it?

Natalie Portman


"Léon" (1994). Mathilda (Natalie) returned from grocery shopping to find crooked cop Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman) at her family's apartment, minutes after her father and little brother were murdered. Not wanting Stansfield to realize she was a family member (and chance being killed as well), Mathilda continued down the hall, pretending she lived in a different apartment, that of Léon. He reluctantly let her inside and from there, the two formed a bond. After finding out that Léon was a professional assassin (or "cleaner"), Mathilda desperately seeked his help in getting revenge for her brother. The movie was released as "The Professional" in the USA.



In one of my favorite scenes from a movie starring Natalie, her character, Sam, had a conversation with Andrew that went like this: Sam - "Hey, I recognize you." Andrew - "Oh, did you go to Columbia High?" Sam - "No, not from high school, from TV. Didn't you play the retarded quarterback?" Andrew - "Yeah..." Sam - "Are you really retarded?" Andrew - "No!" Sam - "Oh...Great job, man! I really thought you were retarded. I mean, you're better than that Corky kid and he's actually retarded. If there was a retarded Oscar, you would win hands down, kick his ass!" Later in the conversation, she brought it up again and exclaimed, "I can't believe you're not retarded!" What movie was this?

Natalie Portman


Garden State. After being estranged from his family for a decade, Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff), returned home for his mother's funeral. While in town, he visited the doctor's office to check on intense headaches he'd been having. While in the waiting room, he met Sam (Natalie). This was the first full conversation the two had, aside from when Sam told Andrew to kick the seeing-eye dog in the balls, since the dog was bothering Andrew.



In "Where the Heart Is" (2000), Natalie's character Novalee gave birth to a baby girl. Novalee claimed she wanted her baby to have "a strong name." What did Novalee name her little girl?

Natalie Portman


Americus. Natalie did a great job in "Where the Heart Is" playing a strong female character that didn't let the setbacks in life hold her back permanently. Novalee raised a daughter with the help of the local townspeople, not accepting handouts from the neighborhood, but allowing them to pitch in when needed. Though it would be expected (and understandable), Novalee did not have a moment of complete self-pity, where she thought her life was over.