In 1997,
Natalie Portman landed the coveted role of
Padme Amidala in George Lucas’
Star Wars prequels. The films cleaned up at the box office, however, they left her acting career in the toilet as many people in Hollywood weren't impressed with her performances. Luckily, the late, great director Mike Nichols ("The Birdcage") went to bat for her.
"Star Wars had come out … 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. 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."
I always thought Portman appeared to be worse than she was because of the wooden dialogue, lazy direction and having zero chemistry with Hayden Christensen ("Shattered Glass"). Guess it wasn't as obvious to everyone else.
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