7 Greatest Child Star Performances of All Time
5. Natalie Portman. Leon: The Professional (1994)
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Forget Black Swan (a great performance), forget Star Wars (ha ha I bet most of you wish you could), Natalie Portmans performance in Leon as the young Matilda is arguably her greatest yet, especially considering this was her first film role and the actress was only 13 when she played her. She was the emotional heart of this film, and played her families (especially her brothers) death with a powerful, beautiful maturity. Playing the free spirited character alongside Jean Renos wooden and cold (but great) performance as Leon, Natalies performance needed to be great to give the film much needed sympathy. If we didn't care for Leon like Natalie does, or if we didnt care for Matilda herself, then we wouldnt have cared for this film at all. Plus, the scene where she is trying to convince Leon to let her into her apartment after realizing what has become of her family is just heartbreaking. Wow... really. Leon is considered one of the greatest modern films of all time, and Natalie Portmans performance is at least one of the three things responsible for that (the others being the direction and Jean Reno). It is arguably because of Natalies performance in this role that she has been given many of her parts since, and has grown to be considered one of, if not the greatest younger actress of this current generation. She is the only person on this list to have won an Oscar as an adult. Not bad for a child actor, no?