Natalie Portman is speaking out and advising young people not to get into acting, at least not as a child.
The 42-year-old actress was just 12 years old when she landed the role of Mathilda in her feature-film debut, the 1994 hitman drama Leon: The Professional.
She continued working at a young age with prominent roles in 1995's Heat, 1996's Beautiful Girls and Mars Attacks! and 1999's Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
Now the actress - who hit the red carpet for the May Decmber premiere last week - is speaking out on her days as a child actress in a wide-ranging interview with Variety, where she says it was an 'accident of luck' she wasn't harmed.
'I would not encourage young people to go into this. I don’t mean ever; I mean as children,' Portman began.
Speaking out: Natalie Portman is speaking out and advising young people not to get into acting, at least not as a child
First role: The 42-year-old actress was just 12 years old when she landed the role of Mathilda in her feature-film debut, the 1994 hitman drama Leon: The Professional
Early roles: She continued working at a young age with prominent roles in 1995's Heat, 1996's Beautiful Girls and Mars Attacks!
Queen Natalie: She also played Queen Amidala in 1999's Star Wars : Episode I - The Phantom Menace
'I feel it was almost an accident of luck that I was not harmed, also combined with very overprotective, wonderful parents,' she admitted.
'You don’t like it when you’re a kid, and you’re grateful for it when you’re an adult. I’ve heard too many bad stories to think that any children should be part of it,' she said.
'Having said that, I know all the conversations that we’ve been having these past few years. It’s made people more aware and careful,' she admitted.
'But ultimately, I don’t believe that kids should work. I think kids should play and go to school,' she said.
The actress also opened up about the recently-ended writers and actors strikes that brought Hollywood to a stand-still for months.
'I have no idea and feel I’m as lost as everyone else. It seems to be changing all the time,' Portman admitted.
'They’re like, "Movies are dead," but "No, movies are thriving," and "No, streaming is just like TV,"' she added.
'We spent all this time changing our industry to have the same thing we had before. And meanwhile, I see my kids; they’re all just watching YouTube,' she continued.
Accident of luck: 'I feel it was almost an accident of luck that I was not harmed, also combined with very overprotective, wonderful parents,' she admitted
Bad stories: 'You don’t like it when you’re a kid, and you’re grateful for it when you’re an adult. I’ve heard too many bad stories to think that any children should be part of it,' she said
'Maybe none of this is relevant. I want to make what I love and care about and try to keep supporting that,' she added.
'When you complete those things, they find their audiences and find their people, the people who are passionate about it,' she said
Portman shares 12-year-old son Aleph and 6-year-old daughter Amalia with husband Benjamin Millepied, who she's been married to since 2012.
She'll next be seen May December alongside Julianne Moore, which debuts on Netflix December 1.
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