Natalie Portman On 'Star Wars' Prequels: "No Director Wanted To Work With Me"

Star Wars fans don't really like talking about the prequel trilogy that almost ruined the franchise, but apparently it almost ruined the career for a future Academy Award winner. Natalie Portman portrayed Padme Amidala in these three movies, but the first of the series, The Phantom Menace, apparently had directors scoffing at her performance, threatening her future as an actress. In a recent New York Magazine feature on the life and unfortunate death of filmmaker Mike Nichols, Portman explained how the director vouched for her and saved her budding career.

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Star Wars had come out around the time of Seagull, and everyone thought I was a horrible actress. I was in the biggest-grossing movie of the decade, and no director wanted to work with me," Portman explained. "Mike wrote a letter to Anthony Minghella and said, 'Put her in Cold Mountain, I vouch for her.' And then Anthony passed me on to Tom Tykwer, who passed me on to the Wachowskis. "

Do you remember Natalie in The Phantom Menace? Take a look at this photo right here:

What do you think would've become of Portman if Nichols hadn't saved her from the unfortunate Star Wars experience? Let us know in the comments section below!

Numerous celebrities felt the loss of Nichols this year on a personal level. Portman goes on to talk about how she and Mike were close friends and how he was someone she could count on.

"When I was 25, I had my heart broken-the rupture of my adolescence, the big heartbreak," the acclaimed actress said. "I was at his apartment on the floor, and he picked me up and gave me a pep talk and sent me to a doctor and straightened me out-literally peeled me off the floor."

Check out the entire Nichols piece right here!