Natalie Portman thought two of her films were ‘disasters’ when they came out

Actor said one of her movies was ‘slaughtered critically’

Natalie Portman has reflected on some of the less popular films of her three-decade career.

The star, who won an Oscar for her role in the 2010 thriller Black Swan, and was nominated for her performances in 2004’s Closer and 2016’s Jackie, has experienced her fair share of critical disdain.

In a new interview, while discussing the fact that her 2013 film Thor: The Dark World has been widely regarded as one of the worst films in the MCU, she said: “I mean, I had it with [1994 Luc Besson thriller] The Professional, too. It was slaughtered critically, and now, despite having been in Marvel and Star Wars movies, it’s the main thing people come up to me about.”

She told Variety: “That and Star Wars are two examples of things that when they came out, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is a disaster.’

“And then 20 years later – actually, 30 years later for The Professional – it’s beloved.”

While Portman did not clarify which Star Wars film she was talking about, she did star in the 1999 movie The Phantom Menace, which received brutal reviews at the time. It now has a 51 per cent rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Ewan McGregor, who also starred in it, recently admitted was “difficult” to finish the Star Wars prequels after Phantom Menace was panned.

Elsewhere in the interview, Portman said she was asked to “get as big as possible” for her role inThor: Love and Thunder.

Portman in ‘The Phantom Menace’

(Rex)

Thor: Love and Thunder – which is set for release on 8 July – is directed by Taika Waititi and is considered a direct sequel to his 2017 Marvel film Thor: Ragnarok.

Portman did not appear in that film, but previously starred in 2011’s Thor and 2013’s Thor: The Dark World as Thor’s love interest Dr Jane Foster.