Credit: BBC/Lucasfilm, edited by ITMStar Wars prequel icon Natalie Portman says that the British King Charles III once asked her if she had been in the original 1977 film at a press event for Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), despite her being clearly far too young to have appeared in both movies.
In a recent interview with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, the host asked Natalie Portman how it had felt to meet the British royal family at the London premiere of the first Star Wars prequel (per Variety). The Academy Award-winning actress told him that she “remember[ed] Prince Charles, he was then Prince Charles, asked me if I was in the originals. I was like, ‘No, I’m 18!’ But he was very friendly.”
It certainly seems like an odd question for then-Prince Charles to ask a teenager if they had been in a film from decades earlier, but in fairness, the current King of England might not have been as up-to-date on George Lucas films as your average person.
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Natalie Portman starred as Padmé Amidala, the Queen (then Senator) of Naboo and wife of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) in the Star Wars prequel films, last appearing in Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005).
While Natalie Portman portrayed Padmé Amidala in the three prequels, the character has had a much-expanded role in TV shows, animated series, tie-in novels, and comic books. Actress Catherine Taber has voiced the character in various media, beginning with Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and most recently in Star Wars Forces of Destiny (2018).
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However, according to Portman, the chances of her reprising Padmé Amidala are actually pretty decent. In interviews earlier this year, the actress revealed that she was open to returning to the character but that Lucasfilm and Disney have simply not reached out. Portman says, “No one’s ever asked me to return, but I’m open to it.”
Given that her Phantom Menace co-stars Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen have both returned as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in Disney+ shows, it is actually pretty mystifying why Lucasfilm has not given her a call. It’s about time that Padmé Amidala got her own showcase.
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