Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman are well-known celebrities today and in the years since their appearances in Star Wars, but were they already famous before this movie? Like did general moviegoers think of McGregor as "that guy from Trainspotting" or was he even that famous yet? Or was Natalie Portman known as "the girl from Mars Attacks" or had no one really thought anything of her before?
sharePortman was famous from the Professional and McGregor from Trainspotting , movie fans knew who they were , but not super famous that your grandma would know who they were
shareNo. Nobody had ever heard of them before Star Wars. A few niche fans had heard of Natalie Portman from watching "The Professional," but she wasn't on the radar for most people back then.
shareNonsense. All her early movies had huge star-studded casts, and she stood out as interesting, talented and obviously had a great deal of pull to be shuffled around in such company. Later, when she graduated Harvard with a BA, it was confirmed that she wasn’t just a pretty face with skills to make believe.
If you were a teen or older in the Nineties, were excited about movies, the internet, a certain movie database, and the future of beautiful women, then you had your eye on her.
Maybe you didn’t even know or remember her name, but we all knew that the hitman’s apprentice, the detective’s suicidal stepchild, President Jack Nicholson’s daughter, and the doll from Woody Allen’s musical was gonna take Hollywood by storm.
She didn’t disappoint, and I’ve had a hard-on since 1994.
[url]https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/actress-natalie-portman-poses-for-a-portrait-in-1994-in-new-news-photo/85520570
Oh no, not you again. You're the only person on this site who keeps spouting that shit. Nobody else on this site has backed up your claims, so I'm not gonna believe a word you say about it. Take your niche fanboy crap and spout it somewhere else.
shareI don’t know what you are talking about. Never even commented on Natalie Portman before. However, I am her age, love movies, and she worked with many of my favorite filmmakers in the 90s. Tim Burton, Michael Mann, Woody Allen, Ted Demme (RIP, Oscar-winning director, Jonathan Demme’s nephew) and, of course George Lucas & Luc Besson.
I also like Besson’s The Big Blue, and Rosanna Arquette was beautiful in that… probably even became a sailor to travel the oceans due inspiration from great cinematographical works such as this! Very inspiring, and this is the perfect message board to share those feelings.
Portman’s work from 2000-2010 and beyond surpassed any leading lady of that era, so of course I was delighted. I saw V for Vendetta, Other Boleyn Girl, Goya’s Ghosts, and Black Swan in theaters.
Perhaps the casual moviegoer never heard of her and didn’t care, but since I saw a diamond in the rough, I certainly think I’m entitled to gloat.
I also found much to appreciate in Elisabeth Shue’s career choices early on, and she, likewise, also got an ivy league education. So, obviously I have an eye to pick out smart women. Not sure why I’m talking with you then! Most women, especially feminists are dumb as a box of rocks. Blue hair, a rough demeanor and attitude are not empowering, because it is *knowledge* that is power.
This is why you didn’t fathom the greatness that is Portman. You probably saw her characters as weak and unimpressive. However, her projects were intellectually stimulating and so were those individuals whom she associated with.
Yes, both wereA-listers, doing leads in movies, but neither was tops of the A-list.
MacGregor had more credits and a more impressive career, as he was older and far more talented.
I was back then 15 years old and already into movies, but without the wonders of the internet. From the cast I knew back then already Liam Neeson (Darkman, Nell and the quite big PR campaign for Michael Collins) and Ewan McGregors (personally from Brassed Off and A Life Less Ordinary) face, but wouldn't say that I would really know them. I would say they were same level of popular as Viggo Mortensen and Sean Astin of Lord of the Rings fame - movie goer recognized them, but no one would buy a ticket because of their star power.
Natalie Portman I heard a lot of praise, but she was unknown to me - I knew Leon from clips, but didnt watched it back then (same for Trainspotting), but never associated the small girl with her. I remember back then also the emphasizing on Keira Kneightley and Sofia Coppola as Amidalas Handmaiden - thats actually also how I got aware of both. Sofia was clearly advertised as Coppola daughter, bit ridiculous considering her career choice as director. For Keira it was 100% the start of her career. (her breakout role for EU was Bend it like Beckham, which likely got her the Pirates gig)
I agree with this. Most people would recognize their faces, but not many would be able to recall their names if asked.
Viggo Mortensen is a good example.
I knew who Natalie Portman was from seeing the movie “Beautiful Girls”. I had heard of Trainspotting but didn’t see it so I was less familiar with McGregor.
shareTrainspotting was one of the most talked movie in 1996, 1.5M budget that made 72M (maybe 150M adjusted to inflation). That made movie Ewan McGregor a star. Natalie Portman was in The Professional and in Heat. She was 'the next big thing' at that time. So they weren't Meryl Streep or Tom Cruise -famous, but the were young and rising stars.
sharePortman was relatively unknown. Her only major role to that point had been in The Professional, which wasn't widely seen, and had more of a cult status. Beyond that, she'd had only small roles.
McGregor wasn't the hottest star in the world, but he was certainly well-known. Trainspotting was a global success, and he was seen as an up-and-coming star with a number of starring roles under his belt.
At the time, Liam Neeson and Samuel L. Jackson were the two most widely-known actors in the film.