It's a safe bet that we won't see Natalie Portman in an iron bikini in any upcoming STAR WARS movies. Her Queen Amidala character is a far more regal presence than Carrie Fisher's scrappy Princess Leia in the original trilogy. But there's more than one way to undermine a performer's credibility, as anyone who's ever been made into an action figure or a Taco Bell meal will attest. "I think it's a concern when you do something commercial that people will forget you also do other stuff," Portman points out. "I'm really proud of my work. I don't think it lost artistically because it's so commercial. Visually it's so amazing. I'm proud to be in this movie. I have no problem being known for Star Wars. I'm not a person who rides on being this act-treeese."

Despite her comfort with the role, Portman faced other considerations in signing up for STAR WARS duty she admits.

"When [George Lucas] offered me the role, I was really honored and flattered," says Portman. "I had to think about it because the implications and the size of the film and the recognizability. Also I had to commit to three movies. I had to sign up for eight years when I was 14. It's a big deal. I didn't know how it would change my life."

With lines stretching around the block for THE PHANTOM MENACE and fans showing up in Queen Amidala's kabuki-style makeup before they've even seen the movie, it's a sure bet that Portman's life is due to be changed very soon.

"The film is not open yet," Portman admits at the time of the interview. "You can imagine what will happen. What happens so far has been exciting. You see other people being so excited. It worries me though that people will be more interested in me and my private life, but I do love people to see the work I do."

The actress has already been introduced to the power of the Force by one experience she reveals.

"I had a really strange one," says Portman. "I was doing a Pediatric AIDS carnival and this person came up to ask me to write 'the force is God.'"

Although iron bikinis are apparently optional, one hard and fast rule of being a STAR WARS Queen seems to be the wearing of super-jumbo, wacky hairdos.

"I saw them when I got the role," Portman acknowledges. "If I had Princess Leia's hair I'd be psyched. They were incredibly heavy and added a look and style. It adds to the queenly presence. The headpieces gave me a constant headache. I hope it doesn't start a fashion trend." Portman also sports a regal accent to go with her regal hairstyle. "George worked with me and wanted to distinguish between the queen voice and my real life voice. I worked with a dialect coach for days. It wasn't a British or American accent but a combo. I think it resembled Lauren Bacall. It was a regal tone. After the film, George tuned it down even more to make it more striking."

Part of Portman's STAR WARS itinerary included a trip to planet Tatooine, stood in for by the Earthly Tunisian desert.

"The whole desert experience was really different," she says. "It got really hot. We'd start shooting as soon as the sun rose at 4 a.m. At 1 p.m. it was 150 degrees and it was difficult. We fried an egg on R2D2. The prop guys got a little mad."

Portman has been steadily immersed in STAR WARS mythology and technology since she won the role of Amidala and has made a very valiant effort to analyze all things STAR WARS.

"In my mind I see the Force as being that thing in me--to trust your instincts and not be blind to your innate knowledge," she says. "It's that thing that guides you." Her character also got to sport at least one variety of STAR WARS sidearm. "I got my own cool queen laser gun. I never got a light saber."

Despite her recent immersion in George Lucas's space fantasy, Portman has managed to live outside the influence of STAR WARS for most of her life.

"I was born in Israel and lived there for three years," says Portman. By the time all the STAR WARS films came out. I was very young and not in an American household. I don't think people have a concept in other countries of how huge STAR WARS is here. I'd seen pieces and I knew Princess Leia's buns and 'May the Force be with you.' You get it in conversation. I thought they were fun movies and great."

Coming up next for Portman is a role as a pregnant teen--literally light years from her role in THE PHANTOM MENACE.

''It's called Where the Heart Is," enthuses Portman. "In choosing material I always try to find things not lent to the profane. I don't like to be disgusting for no reason. I'm going to make choices based on things I want to do. I don't do bad movies. This is a very sweet story."

Above and beyond her cinematic duties, Portman is currently looking forward to college and reveals she has developed some interests appropriate to her royal role.

"A college education today is like high school," says Portman. "I'm not ready to stop learning. I don't feel ready to enter the world. I started to do this at age 11. At 20, I might say this is enough. I'm very interested in politics and foreign issues. I have a very stable family life. I go to public high school. My friends all are regular people. They're all really outstanding in their own field--singers, scientists. I've had people around me treat me like a normal person. You think the whole world surrounds this industry. It's not. Movies are a weekend thing."

Portman is also quick to disavow earlier reports in VANITY FAIR that she has no date for her high school prom. "They interviewed me in February," she says a bit embarrassed. "Obviously I didn't have a date then, but it did make me sound like a dork. I have a date now."

Another aspect of STAR WARS duty Portman has confronted is her own action figure.

"Yes, I've seen my action figure," she says. "I think it's funny. I have two action figures and collectors dolls with costumes that are aimed toward girls. One of the coolest things in the world is to make kids happy."

As for her CGI co-stars, Portman has a clear favorite--while a certain Rastafarian comic relief alien is conspicuous by his absence.

"I think Sebulba is cool," she says. "I love the way he walks and it's really cool. The ships were cool. It was a obviously a difficult shoot. I loved the actors in this movie. It was not the easiest shoot."

One factor in that assessment was a special effects snafu that threw debris into Portman's eyes. "It really wasn't a big deal," she says. "They've made more of it. It happens on movies all the time. We were doing action scenes and a squib exploded near my eye when I shot out. It exploded in my eye. I was fine. The next day I had my eye cleaned out. We had people who fainted in the desert. Someone had a heart attack. That was their own thing and not related to STAR WARS."