‘Doubt’: The 2008 movie Natalie Portman rejected because “she didn’t understand celibacy”
People turn down films for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes it’s because they disagree with the politics behind a project, as was the case with Matthew Modine and Top Gun. Other times, an actor simply has too many personal or professional responsibilities to juggle, whether that’s parenthood or other work commitments.
Natalie Portman, on the other hand, once turned down a movie for a much more bizarre and oddly specific reason, something she maybe shouldn’t have, given that it would eventually go on to earn four Academy Awards nominations for the performances of its four main actors.
But if you don’t feel connected to a film’s script, it’s hard to justify going through the long and demanding process of making it, especially with something as emotionally gruelling as Doubt, directed by John Patrick Shanley and adapted from his own play of the same name.
The narrative explores child abuse, guilt, truth, and conservatism, set against the backdrop of a Catholic school in 1960s New York, with the film starring Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn, who is accused of molesting a young boy he takes under his wing, while Meryl Streep and Amy Adams play nuns who teach at the Catholic school, finding themselves conflicted over whether Flynn is guilty.
Adams’ character, Sister James, was initially offered to Portman, but she turned it down because of a specific lack of understanding regarding part of her lifestyle.
“Well, we asked Natalie Portman, and Natalie was very interested but kept saying she had a problem,” Shanley said at a press junket, “And we finally nailed down as to what the problem was. She basically said she didn’t understand celibacy.”
Celibacy certainly isn’t for everyone, and Portman seemingly couldn’t wrap her head around how anyone could willingly give up sex, even in the name of a higher power and religious belief. Playing a nun just wasn’t going to work for the actor at all, so she turned down the part, which would see Adams up for ‘Best Supporting Actress’, her second Oscar nomination at the time.
Portman instead appeared in The Other Boleyn Girl that year, taking on the role of Tudor Queen Anne Boleyn, as well as trying her hand at directing with the short romantic comedy film Eve and a segment in the anthology film New York, I Love You. Doubt was a big success, heralded for its nuanced take on such difficult themes, but clearly, she just didn’t feel that connection to the character to want to make the movie work.
Regardless, she also didn’t need to worry about missing out on an Academy Award nomination, because just two years later, she would win ‘Best Actress’ for her performance in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, which explored the obstacles faced by a sexually repressed ballerina, proving her attraction to a character who grapples with her sexuality (and ultimately has sex) rather than a celibate nun.
