Natalie Portman was “bullied” in school for being a child actress.
Natalie Portman
The 39-year-old actress made her feature film debut in 1994’s ‘Léon: The Professional’ when she was just 13, and has admitted her classmates used to tease her for her career path, because they believed she thought she was “special”.
Natalie was speaking to Drew Barrymore for the fellow actress’ eponymously titled talk show, when Drew - who was also a child actor and starred with Natalie in the 1996 movie ‘Everyone Says I Love You’ - said: “I read this thing about how you didn’t have an easy time in school because you would go out to movies and then come back and just have an awkward time with the other kids at school … I haven’t really read that from a lot of people and that was totally my experience, I really related to that.”
And Natalie confessed: “I mean I think people get bullied for all sorts of reasons and that’s a lucky reason to be bullied for because you are doing something that you love, I mean if you are doing something that you love.
“I do think that that sort of creates your empathy like being on that side of the teasing certainly makes you never want to make anyone feel like that ever again.”
The ‘Star Wars’ actress also admitted she found the experience tough, because she felt like she wasn’t about to be “proud” of her accomplishments.
Drew said: “The irony is that they would always say to me, ‘You think you’re so special.’ And I really read that in what you said in the copy and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh that’s exactly what they would say to me’ and I was like, ‘I not only don’t think I’m special but you are absolutely confirming I am not.”
To which Natalie added: “I know it’s so sad and also it’s like you know young people should be able to be proud of their accomplishments and I was like, ‘Oh God, I should just keep my head down all the time.’ Which isn’t a good way to go through life.”
Tagged in Drew Barrymore Natalie Portman