Natalie Portman's Most Phenomenal Performances

Opening this week in limited release is Jackie, the biopic chronicling Jacqueline Onassis, [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

Opening this week in limited release is Jackie, the biopic chronicling Jacqueline Onassis, starring Natalie Portman. The film is already gaining lots of critical buzz, thanks to screenings around the festival circuit, and Portman in particular has accumulated acclaim for her performance of the former First Lady of the United States.

The praise for Portman's abilities comes as no surprise, as Portman has had dozens of fantastic roles in her 20+ year career. Considering she's been acting since she was 13, the Oscar-winning actress has had plenty of time to hone her craft, lending her skills to the realms of fantasy, action, drama, thriller, and romantic comedy.

To prepare for another stellar role, we picked our favorite portrayals by the performer, presented in chronological order. Let us know your favorite of Portman's films in the comments!

Léon: The Professional

Her on-screen debut, Portman played Mathilda, a young girl whose entire family was murdered for her father's drug dealings. When she begged for help from her neighbor, he himself being a hitman, the two sparked a unique relationship, with Mathilda helping Léon (Jean Reno) with chores around the house and Léon teaching Mathilda survival skills. Portman was fantastic at conveying her vulnerability and also her resilience to survive, made all the more impressive when realizing this was her first movie. Thanks to Mathilda, Portman quickly became the most exciting child actor of the time and was sought by everyone. EEEVVVVEEEERRRRRYYYYOOOOOONNNNNNE!

[H/T YouTube/Movieclips]

Beautiful Girls

Following her debut, Portman starred alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Heat, but didn't get much screen time. After that, she starred in Beautiful Girls, where she played the neighbor of Willie (Timothy Hutton), a man who returns home for a high school reunion. Although not a lead role, Portman's character was a catalyst for Willie's decisions as he tried to debate what direction his life was taking. Compared to her role in Léon: The Professional, Portman played the adolescent girl next door proving both her dramatic and comedic chops while also holding her own amongst a strong ensemble who's starred in many more films.

[H/T YouTube/Movieclips]

Closer

Portman's performance in Beautiful Girls caused a string of more lighthearted films, with a little film about stars and wars thrown in there, but Closer helped break that streak. Not only was she a cornerstone in a cast featuring Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, and Jude Law, but she also played an exotic dancer, proving she wanted to take risks with these more adult roles. The film marks a darker turn in her career, as far as subject matter is concerned, but also solidified that this child actor was sticking around for good and was more than a one-trick pony.

[H/T YouTube/Movieclips]

V for Vendetta

Portman continued her trend of taking on darker and more mature subject matter when she played Evey in James McTeigue's adaptation of the iconic graphic novel V for Vendetta. Most of Portman's scenes involved interacting with someone in a Guy Fawkes mask, so she carries a huge brunt of the responsibilities of getting the audience engaged to the story's humanity. In multiple scenes, her character also has to suffer through methods of torture, going so far as to shave her whole head as a sacrifice for the film.

[H/T YouTube/hairvideos]

Black Swan

Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan is easily one of the best psychological thrillers of the last decade, thanks in large part to Portman's performance. Chronicling the competitive nature and mental turmoil it takes to become a professional ballerina, Portman had to convey vulnerability, pride, doubt, confusion, desperation, and much more throughout the course of the film. Add to that the physical abilities she needed to sell some of the performances, and it's easy to see why this role earned her that year's Oscar for Best Actress.

[H/T YouTube/Movieclips]

Honorable Mention - Padmé Amidala

Although the quality of the films themselves is up for debate, Portman consistently put in solid performances as Queen Amidala of Naboo in the Star Wars prequels. The actress regularly had to work off of CGI, stand-ins, multiple actors playing Anakin Skywalker, and pull off a plethora of stunts. Even more impressive was that for two of the films, she was attending Harvard, demonstrating her devotion to not just acting but also to her own education.

[H/T YouTube/Marcelo Zuniga]

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