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Natalie Portman Says Being Sexualized as a Child Actor Was a ‘Long Lolita Phase’ She Tried to Avoid: ‘I Felt Very Scared by It’

Natalie Portman tried to avoid being sexualized as a child actor by acting like a tough girl on film sets.

Natalie Portman told Jenna Ortega during a discussion for Interview magazine that she endured a “long Lolita phase” as a child actor, referring to how the industry sexualized her at a young age. “I think there’s a public understanding of me that’s different from who I am,” Portman told Ortega, with whom she starts with in the upcoming movie “The Gallerist.” “I’ve talked about it a little before — about how, as a kid, I was really sexualized, which I think happens to a lot of young girls who are onscreen. Portman revealed on an episode of the “Smartless” podcast last year that she learned at a young age to project a tough exterior on film sets to avoid sexualization by potential predators in the industry.

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