Actor of the Month: Natalie Portman

Why: After just recently watching Brothers Natalie Portman is an actress who has quietly dominated the movie scene. Her abilities are vast. Her beauty is flawless. Her movie picks are smart. Natalie Portman stormed onto the movie scene when she was just 12 years old in The Professional (aka Leon), which also starred Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, and Danny Aiello. The Professional is an excellent movie where Portman shows her natural skills at such a young age. What always intrigued me about this movie was Portman’ level of maturity and understanding. She realized that her character took no shit from anyone and was forced to grow up within minutes due to her families brutal murder. I have always hoped and thought they should make a sequel to The Professional and just call it Matilda. Portman followed The Professional with a minor role in Heat but her biggest role was in the prequels to Star Wars. Although, it wasn’t the best acting on her part but being part of the Star Wars franchise definitely elevates your credibility and future paychecks. In 2005, Portman starred in V for Vendetta, which is my second favorite role of hers (first is The Professional). Much like in The Professional, Portman’s character in Vendetta endures so much pain and turmoil from external elements it forces her to become stronger. She showed her dedication to the role during the emotional sequence of her characters breakdown culminating with the shaving of her head. (By the way, she looked beautiful without hair.)

Natalie Portman isn’t a blockbuster actress. She doesn’t feel the need to accept every script that comes her way. Her ability to pick quality films that have deeper meaning signifies her intelligence. She has a unique talent for authentically displaying emotions in her characters when needed. For reasons such as this I award the May’s Actor of Month to Natalie Portman!