Natalie Portman Walked Away from Cinema’s Greatest Love Story at 13

Natalie Portman’s filmography is nothing short of exemplary. She has collaborated with directors like George Lucas, Michael Mann, Tim Burton, Todd Haynes, Pablo Larraín, Darren Aronofsky, and Terrence Malick, to name just a few. However, there’s one acclaimed director she missed out on working with, even though she had the chance at one point: the notable Baz Luhrmann.

In 1997, Luhrmann was bringing to the big screen one of William Shakespeare’s most famous works. Romeo + Juliet has remained a cultural icon over the years, fully ingrained in popular culture. With Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes playing the titular roles, Luhrmann’s version was delightfully kitschy, bringing a fresh and clever modern twist to the English playwright’s creation. Initially, however, another actress was intended for the role of Juliet.

Natalie Portman, along with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Aaliyah, Kate Winslet, and Christina Ricci, all auditioned for the part of Juliet. But it was Natalie Portman who was initially chosen. At 13 years old, she traveled to Sydney to do screen tests with Leonardo DiCaprio. But her age soon became an issue…

In an interview with Vpro cinema, Baz Luhrmann explained, “Natalie was already a fine actress, but she was a frail little girl and Leonardo was already 21 — his character was supposed to be 18 — but Natalie being so young made him seem older and everything then looked rather improper.”

At that time, the young actress had already appeared in films like Léon, Mars Attacks!, and Heat but, despite her talent, it was her youthful appearance next to Leonardo DiCaprio that cost her the role. Ironically, the characters created by Shakespeare were very young: in the original play, Romeo is 16 and Juliet is 13. Ironically, she was actually age-appropriate…

“Fox said it looked like Leonardo DiCaprio was attacking me when we kissed,” Natalie Portman told The New York Times in 1996.

“It was a complicated situation and it had to do with the fact that I was 13 and Leonardo was 21 and it wasn’t appropriate in the eyes of the production company or the director Baz [Luhrmann],” she said in a television interview the same year. “And it was sort of a mutual decision that it wasn’t the right timing at that point and I think the film turned out really, really beautiful and Claire Danes did a very, very wonderful job. It just wasn’t the right time, you know?”

Claire, The Perfect Choice

Thus, the search resumed to find the perfect Juliet, and it was Claire Danes, recommended by Jane Campion to Baz Luhrmann after she had impressed her in the TV series My So-Called Life (1994), who ultimately landed the role. She was 17 at the time.

“I met Claire Danes and what was wonderful was that even though she was still very young, she possessed a wisdom that isn’t common among her peers. It was remarkable,” said the director.

And then her screen tests with Leonardo DiCaprio were a success. DiCaprio later admitted during the film’s promotion, “Claire walked in and she just lit up the room, she had such a presence… She wasn’t trying to be the delicate little flower Juliet is often portrayed as. Our eyes met and we performed the scene without any preconceived notions of how it should be. She was just there, pure and perfect.”

Romeo + Juliet eventually grossed over 147 million dollars worldwide. After it came Moulin Rouge!, perhaps Baz Luhrmann’s most famous film. The rest is history.

Romeo + Juliet is currently available for streaming on Disney+.