Natalie Portman doesn't think 'any children' should work in Hollywood, 'luck that I was not harmed'
Natalie Portman doesn't encourage "any children" to work in Hollywood.
Portman starred in her first movie at the age of 13, but called it an "accident of luck" that she wasn't harmed while working.
"I would not encourage young people to go into this," she told the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast. "I don’t mean ever; I mean as children."
Portman has two of her own children with her husband, Benjamin Millepied; Aleph and Amalia.
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"I feel it was almost an accident of luck that I was not harmed, also combined with very overprotective, wonderful parents," Portman explained.
"You don’t like it when you’re a kid, and you’re grateful for it when you’re an adult."
While Portman feels she was kept safe, she told the outlet, "I’ve heard too many bad stories to think that any children should be part of it. 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."
"But ultimately, I don’t believe that kids should work," she added. "I think kids should play and go to school."
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A representative for Portman did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for further comment.
Portman's feelings toward "Léon: The Professional," the film that launched her into stardom at 13, are "complicated." In the 1994 film, Portman portrayed a young girl who becomes the mentee of a hitman after her family is murdered.
"It's a movie that's still beloved, and people come up to me about it more than almost anything I've ever made."
"And it gave me my career," Portman noted. "But it is definitely, when you watch it now, it definitely has some cringey, to say the least, aspects to it."
"So, yes, it's complicated for me," she added.