‘It wasn’t appropriate’: At 13, Natalie Portman left one of cinema’s most beautiful love stories

Natalie Portman’s filmography is exemplary. He has worked with directors such as George Lucas, Michael Mann, Tim Burton, Todd Haynes, Pablo Larraín, Darren Aronofsky and Terrence Malick – to name a few. But there is one acclaimed filmmaker who was shut out of the Oscar-winning actor’s career despite having a (missed) opportunity to work with him at one point: one Baz Luhrmann.

In 1997, the latter filmed one of William Shakespeare’s most famous works on the big screen. Romeo + Juliet is one of those films that has remained as iconic as ever over the years: it is now fully part of popular culture. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the eponymous roles, Luhrmann’s version is as kitsch as it gets, modernizing the English playwright’s work with originality and inventiveness. But, initially, the role of Juliet belonged to another actress.

Natalie PortmanSarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Aaliyah, Kate Winslet and Christina Ricci auditioned for the role of Juliet. But it is Natalie Portman who was elected for the first time. The 13-year-old actress went to Sydney to do tests Leonardo DiCaprio. But his age quickly created a problem…

In an interview with Vpro cinema, Baz Luhrmann explained: “Natalie was already a very good actress, but she was a frail little girl, and Leonardo was already 21 – his character was supposed to be 18 – but the fact that Natalie was so young and everything seemed unhealthy.“

At that time, the young actor had already made films such as Léon, Mars Attacks! And warmth, but, beyond his talent, it’s his looks on the side Leonardo DiCaprio which cost him the role. And yet, the characters created by Shakespeare were very young: in the original play, Romeo is 16 years old, and Juliet is 13 years old. After all, he was the right age…

“Foxx said it felt like Leonardo DiCaprio was attacking us when we kissed“, he said Natalie Portman In a 1996 New York Times interview.

“It was a difficult situation and it had to do with the fact that I was 13 and Leonardo was 21 and it wasn’t a good fit in the eyes of the production company or director Baz. – he said in a TV interview in the same year. “And it was kind of a mutual decision that it wouldn’t be the right time at the time, and I think the movie is really, really beautiful, and Claire Danes did a really, really beautiful job. It just wasn’t the right time, you know?“

Claire, obviously

That’s why the castings resumed finding the perfect Juliet, and that’s why Claire DanesSuggested by Jane Campion Baz LuhrmannAfter he surprised her in the TV series Angela, 15 (1994), she finally got the role. He was 17 years old then.

“I met Claire Danes and what was great about her was that even though she was still very young, she had a wisdom that people at her age don’t have. It was incredible“- said the director.

And then his tests Leonardo DiCaprio They are successful. The latter admits during the promotion of the film that he was impressed by his young partner: “Claire came in and she radiated the room, she had such a presence…she was absolutely not trying to be this little angelic flower like Juliet. His gaze met mine and we acted out the scene without the slightest idea of ​​how to act. It was just there, pure and perfect.“

Romeo + Juliet It ended up grossing over $147 million worldwide. After that comes Moulin Rouge!, probably the most famous film Baz Luhrmann. The rest is history.

Romeo + Juliet is currently available to stream on Disney+.