Natalie Portman graces the April cover of Elle magazine to promote her period flick "The Other Boleyn Girl." Whole interview here.
Highlights:
On Hillary Clinton:A lot of the stuff people say about her, I hear it and my stomach falls because it's so sexist. You ask people why they don't like her and it's because her husband cheated on her! That was obviously not her choice. She's so much more polished and experienced than anyone else. Last night, a friend, a social worker in L.A. who works with underprivileged kids, was saying how these girls who have never been interested in politics before are so excited that a woman might be president. I mean, look how many women are in government...Hillary's one of, what, [a handful of] female senators?
I also like Obama. I even like McCain. I disagree with his war stance--which is a really big deal--but I think he's a very moral person. I met him and Hillary on the same day, actually, when I went to Washington with Finca [a nonprofit that gives loans to businesswomen in developing countries]. Hillary was by far the smartest person I met that day. Just totally focused, and knew more about the issues than anyone else, and was so able to go from one thing to the other.
On starting her own production company:
It is proactive. It gives you more control over creating things, as opposed to having to get hired every single time. After you've worked for so long it's kind of annoying to have to be dependent in that way. With acting, getting work can be very passive. You're sort of subject to the whims and fashions of your moment. I've been working 15 years, and I know some years I get everything first and some years I read only uninteresting parts. I didn't want to just be at the mercy of whoever is making those decisions. Having your own company is a nice way to concentrate your ideas and make the kinds of movies you want to see.