Image by Jerod Harris/Getty Images

If there was one woman impatient for time to be up in Hollywood, it was certainly Natalie Portman. The actress has been on the front lines of the recent activism that has swept Hollywood since the October Weinstein bombshell.

In a new Buzzfeed interview, Portman continues to air her rage and indignation for all the world to read. One of her primary grievances against the film industry is the underrepresentation of women across all positions.

“What feels so revolutionary for us is daily life for men,” said Portman. “Men are used to sitting around a table with all men, men are used to being at work with all men; for us, it feels radical. I’ve had wonderful male mentorships, wonderful male colleagues — that exists. But we’ve completely lost female mentorship, and missed out because you just don’t get exposed to it as much. It’s just rarer because of the lower percentage of women in every position of power.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Portman’s upcoming movie, “Annihilation”, features five women in leading roles, an opportunity that Portman says is tragically rare. More often, she’s the only woman in the room.

Portman also talks about finding inspiration in Reese Witherspoon, an actress who started producing her own films after seeing a dearth of good scripts for women, especially women getting older.

“I get a lot more than a lot of other women, and the stuff I get, I’m like, what? With big leading roles, so often motivations are bad things happening to the children. I don’t want to play that! Literally, if you take that out, 90% of what’s sent to me, I can’t do. Or sexual violence. The number of times you’re raped onscreen — there are other things that can motivate women and shape their emotional worlds. It’s definitely limited.”

When asked about signing the 2009 Roman Polanski petition, Portman is blunt about her regret. Her response to a question about whether or not Woody Allen’s career should be over, however, is less direct.

“I don’t think that’s what the conversation should be about. I think it should be about: Why didn’t Elaine May make a movie every year? Why didn’t Nora Ephron make a movie every year? Where’s the female version of Bill Cosby? Why don’t we see any Asian women in films? There’s so much art that’s being lost by not giving opportunities to women and people of color. Let’s not talk about what man’s career is over.”

Let’s hope that Natalie Portman and her allies will create a Hollywood that will be chock-full of solid roles for little girls and elderly women alike.

Becky Scott is the editor of The Schmooze. Follow her on Twitter, @arr_scott

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount