Natalie Portman is set to star in a new thriller set in the world of cycling, which has been snapped up by Amazon – but how much do you know about her?
As it is the season for new projects to find market deals, news was broken by Deadline that Pumping Black, a psychological thriller set in the cutthroat world of competitive cycling, has been snapped up by Amazon.
The thriller, which is set to star Jonathan Bailey and Natalie Portman, follows the story of ageing cyclist Taylor Mace, who is taken under the wing of Dr Andrea Lathe, who is driven by a lust for victory and power. As the race to the Tour de France progresses, Taylor has to take measures to protect his secret.
Mimi Cave is slated to direct, who is best known for 2022 horror movie Fresh.
But the movie may have to come after Natalie has given birth. She revealed in April that she is expecting her third child.
But how much do you know about Natalie Portman? Here are some facts you might not know.
She was first spotted at a pizza restaurant
Natalie was spotted by a modelling agent when she was just 10 years old when she was in a pizza restaurant. While that contact didn’t result in a modelling contract, it did lead to her signing with an acting agent. Just a few years later she would star in her first movie.
She loves ballet and has had training in it for years
Natalie’s love of ballet goes back to when she was a small child. She studied ballet and modern dance at the Amercian Theater Dance Workshop and attended the Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, a summer day camp in Long Island that has several notable alumni, including Mariah Carey.
Natalie’s love of ballet and her work coincided in 2010 when she was in Black Swan a psychological horror about a ballerina overwhelmed by the prospect of performing Swan Lake. For this role, which included many dance scenes, she trained for between five and eight hours daily with a professional ballerina.
She misses a Star Wars premiere to study
Natalie landed the role of Padme Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy in 1997 – despite being unfamiliar with the iconic movies at the time when she was cast. The first movie in the trilogy, Episode I – The Phantom Menace was released in 1999, when Natalie was in her final year of high school.
Due to the movie’s summer release, it coincided with Natalie’s high school finals. Being a diligent – and talented – student, Natalie decided to miss the premiere of The Phantom Menace to study for her final exams.
Natalie has a degree in psychology from Harvard
While by the time she left high school Natalie was already a worldwide star, thanks to her role in Star Wars, she still nonetheless wanted to go to University – and she did.
After Natalie finished work on Where the Heart Is, she began her university studies. Natalie studied psychology at the prestigious Harvard University and graduated in 2003. While there, she was Alan Dershowitz’s research assistant on his book The Case for Israel.
During this time, Natalie’s work on stage and screen was reduced, although she did film scenes for Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones during her summer break in 2000 and performed on Broadway in The Seagull in the summer of 2001.
Natalie can speak six languages
Natalie is multi-lingual. Her first languages are English and Hebrew – she was born in Israel, although her parents migrated to the USA when Natalie was just three years old.
In addition, Natalie can speak French, German, Japanese and Arabic, to varying degrees.
