A young star still might walk away from it all

　　年轻的明星还是可能离开演艺圈

　　Millions of people dream of making it big in the movies, so it’s hard to picture someone on the verge of stardom throwing it all away. But that’s exactly what Natalie Portman did: in 1999, having just made her name in Star Wars 1, she walked away from Hollywood to go to Harvard. “I’m going to college,” she told people at the time. “I don’t care if it ruins my acting career. I’d rather be smart than a movie star.”

　　It’s that kind of confidence that got her noticed in the first place. The daughter of a doctor and an artist, Portman was born in Israel in 1981, but moved to the US when she was three years old. She was discovered in a pizza shop by an agent when she was 11 and already had her first major part in the movie The Professional by the time she was 12. Though the director initially felt she was too young for the part of a girl who falls in love with a killer, her surprising maturity finally won him over.

　　Taking time off from movies hasn’t hurt her career at all. Now that she’s out of school, with a degree in psychology, she’s picking up right where she left off. In addition to a brief appearance in last year’s Cold Mountain, she has four films in the works this year, including Garden State and next year’s highly anticipated Star Wars 3.

　　But Portman is still keeping her fans guessing about her future plans. “I’m taking it day by day,” she says. “Right now I like acting, but if something else sparks my interest, I’ll do that. It’s so limiting to say, ‘this is it for the rest of my life.’”

　　成千上万的人梦想成为电影巨星，所以很难想象一个即将成为明星的人会拋下这一切。但娜塔莉·波特曼就是这样做的：1999年，她刚在《星球大战1》中成名，就离开好莱坞到哈佛去念书。“我要上大学。”在当时告诉大家，“我不在乎这是否会毁掉我的演艺事业。与其当电影明星，我宁愿聪明一点。”

　　就是这样的自信让她在一开始时受到注意。波特曼是医生和艺术家的女儿，在1981年生于以色列，但在3岁的时候移居美国。她11岁时，在一家比萨店被经纪人发掘，12岁时就已经在《终极追杀令》中担任主角。虽然导演一开始认为她演爱上杀人犯的女孩这个角色太年轻了，但她令人惊讶的成熟度终于说服了导演。

　　暂别影坛完全无损于她的演艺事业。现在她毕业了，拥有心理学学位，她要从上次停下来的地方开始。除了在去年的《冷山》中短暂露脸，今年她有4部片子在拍摄，包括《花园故乡》﹙暂译﹚，以及明年备受期待的《星球大战3》。

　　但波特曼还是让她的影迷捉摸不定她未来的计划。“我走一步算一步。”她说，“我现在喜欢演戏，但如果有其他事情激起我的兴趣，我就会去做。若说‘这就是我这辈子想做的事’，那就实在太局限了。”