Bra-stuffing, boyfriends, and babies--not exactly the kind of things you'd expect Natalie Portman to talk about with Susan Sarandon.

I didn't know why Susan Sarandon asked me to sit in while she interviewed Natalie Portman for Jane. Not that I wasn't thrilled to be with Susan, an actor and activist I've admired for ages; and the 18-year-old Natalie, who is intelligent, funny, well-adjusted, a movie star--basically, the kind of teenager you wish you'd been. Besides, it's not too shabby to say you had lunch with Queen Amidala and half of Thelma and Louise.

Susan and Natalie certainly didn't seem to need a mediator. The two played, respectively, psychotic mother and stable-but-struggling daughter in Anywhere But Here (coming soon to a theater near you), and they've been pretty darn chummy ever since. But Susan didn't come off as maternal toward Natalie. Anyone wondering how a girl could tackle a major part in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace while deciding on her major in college can rest easy: Natalie is stable, self- assured and very un-showbiz. Natalie, who chowed on pasta primavera without cheese, and Susan, who was worried that her barbecued shrimp would offend her vegan costar, talked like two friends who work in the same business, comparing notes. When it was done, I told Susan she was so good at this that Jane would probably give her my job, and that she sure didn't seem to need my help.

"Yeah," she said, "but I needed you here so I'd remember not to gossip."

"Oh."

--- Suzan Colón

Susan Sarandon: First, you played my daughter in Anywhere But Here, and in your next movie, Where the Heart Is, you're going to have a daughter.

Natalie Portman: Yeah, It's gonna be interesting, especially because I can't even draw on experience for it at all. I know what it's like to be a daughter, but...

SS: But when you're a mother, you can't draw on any experience before it happens, no matter what you read.

NP: I'm going to be awkward when I'm holding the baby, it's gonna be crying on me--

SS: Spitting up on you --

NP: Totally, and I'll be all grossed out. So it'll be very natural. But I tried on my pregnancy pad the other day. It was heavy! And I've got boobs. You know, the little mushy things?

SS: The ones you stick into your bra?

NP: They looked really good. I want to take them after filming is over! I was like, "I'm sexy!"

SS: Has a lot changed since Star Wars came out? Can you feel any difference?

NP: Um, a little. I mean you can see [looking around at how no one is looking at her] people really don't recognize me that much, 'cause I'm small and I don't wear flashy clothes. But it's definitely getting weirder. A radio station had a contest to find out where my school was, and they gave tickets to the Backstreet Boys concert as prizes. So I didn't go to school for awhile.

SS: Well, a radio station had a contest when I was pregnant to find out who the father was. Can you imagine? You're driving around and you see this bumper sticker that reads, HONK IF YOU KNOW THE FATHER OF SUSAN SARANDON'S CHILD. Is it worth the trade-off?

NP: Well...It's not completely out of control. I don't think I'm anything like the big, established people who everyone knows immediately. It feels kind of strange.

SS: So what about starting college?

NP: I'm scared! One of my best friends from childhood called me the other day and said, "I don't mean this to be rude, but who's going to room with you? Isn't it gonna be weird for them to be roommates with a movie star?" She didn't mean it to upset me, but it is going to be strange. All my friends knew me before any of this happened, so they're excited, but it's not a big deal. These are all new people who are only going to know me from movies.

SS: And some of the will be surprised that you're not what they expected.

NP: Right. Like that part in Notting Hill where they go around the table and everyone says why they're the most pathetic person. And Julia Roberts' character says she has to diet constantly, she's had two operations to look that way. And for a second everyone's like, "Ohh..." And then they're like, "No, we don't feel bad for you!" That's totally the thing you get from people. For two seconds people will be sympathetic to the fact that you have problems going places and people bother you all the time. I've had very nice people so far. But occasionally you get these freaks, people who will make nasty phone calls, write dirty things on the Internet... It gets you kind of depressed about how people are. I mean, I'm such a target as a young, single woman. They don't do this to Liam Neeson, you know?

SS: Do you read articles about yourself?

NP: I read everything. I'm too interested in what people think. It's like, if you don't know people are talking about you, it's fine, but if you know that they're talking about you, you want to know what they're saying. In seventh grade I cried every single day when I came back from shooting The Professional. My friends were not my friends. They were saying, "She thinks she's so hot now," things like that, and it was the most painful thing I've ever gone through. [Laughs] Clearly, I haven't had that difficult a life. But I have barely any memories of that year, except that I would just cry all the time. I went to public school after that year.

SS: What attracted you to acting at such a young age--what was it, you were 11? Did you think it was a hoot?

NP: Actually, my real dream was to be one of those kind of Broadway dancers, you know. Not like a Rockette, like a dancer in Fosse. And then I got the opportunity to audition for things because... You know, I've told this story dozens of times, and I'm sick of it! I have to start making things up. I got the opportunity to audition for Broadway plays and stuff, and then I got The Professional.

SS: So what kept you interested in doing it more?

NP: I had the best time. When you're a little girl on the set, you get treated like a princess. I just had so much fun--it was like a game, you know? Star Wars was the first thing that felt like work. We just did long days, and there were so many elements to that movie.

SS: I want some Star Wars memorabilia with you on it.

NP: My dad bought a Queen Amidala mouse pad yesterday! I was like, "You're not gonna use that, are you?" He's like, "Of course I am. People have mouse pads with their children's pictures on them--and I didn't even have to have mine made!" I'm like [rolls eyes].

SS: Just to segue a bit here, do you think you can have it all as a young woman these days?

NP: I don't really know. I think you kind of proved that it's possible. You have the family, you've got the career.

SS: My refrigerator is not defrosted, though. And my house is a mess.

NP: No, but I mean, it is definitely possible. You have to be Superwoman to do it, but...

SS: What do you think you'll do more differently than your mom?

NP: I would have more kids, because I don't like being an only child. I don't think I would've been able to act, had there been other children, because it wouldn't be really fair to them. But it's strange for me to think that when I'm older my kids won't have cousins from my side, and I won't have any one to, like, be conspirators with and talk about my parents when I'm older. Because no one knows what it's like to be in my family. I can say to someone, "Oh my God, they're killing me!" And they're like, "But your parents are so nice!"

SS: Where were you born?

NP: Jerusalem. My grandmother was telling me the story of how she saw me when I was first born: She goes, "I valked into the room and I said, 'Vhat is this?' You had this schpitz on your head." Because they used a vacuum to get me out, so I came out with a cone-head [laughing]. I was complaining to my dad about what she said, and he goes, "You should've heard what she said about me." Because when my dad was born, she said he was the ugliest baby she'd ever seen.

SS: Were you on time?

NP: No, I was five days late. This is a crazy story: I was born on my mom's birthday, which is June 9. And my dad is an infertility expert. So one of his patients came in, and he said, "Okay, let's see what date you're due." So he looked on his computer to see when she was inseminated, and it was Sept. 17, which is my dad's birthday. He sees when it's due, June 9, which is my birthday and my mom's birthday--which means two things. First of all, when my dad was being born, my mom was being conceived. Obviously, this is theoretical, because days are off with pregnancies; but they're nine months apart. And I was conceived on my dad's birthday. I'm like, "Dad, I know what you got for your birthday!"

SS: How much of living in Israel has shaped who you are?

NP: It's a huge part of who I am. I think the history of people kind of trivializes a lot of your own issues. Clearly, I never want to belittle my own emotions at all, because things in your life--if you don't get a part or someone writes something nasty about you--it's completely valid. But when you see these people who are losing their sons in wars--it's such a heavy country. There's something very spiritual, not even in a religious sense, it just seems like people have a purpose and know what they're doing. At dinner, everyone's talking about politics. You just don't get that in the States.

SS: Doing The Diary of Anne Frank on Broadway must have been an enormous thing for your family, no?

NP: It was really amazing. But those were my most difficult days. I thought you got all your crying out on stage, and then you were fine, but anything would set me off. You get so emotional because onstage, you cry five or six times, and you're doing this show eight times a week.

SS: At least with film, you only have to get a bad scene right a few times and then you're on to the next one.

NP: Doing Anne Frank was definitely an amazing experience, and it really shaped me. From the beginning to the end, I grew up. It was kind of perfect, because I went from being a girl to being a woman, and that's how Anne progresses in the play.

SS: What misconceptions do people have about you?

NP: That I'm serious. I come off very serious, don't you think?

SS: Yeah, but you have a sense of humor.

NP: I do.

SS: But you're not girly and silly.

NP: No. I know how to have a good time, I know how to party and [laughs]...you know.

SS: Your parents are going to read this, so I don't think you should go into that. If you were going to name three qualities of boyfriends, what would they be?

NP: Being able to talk about anything. I love reading books with friends and talking about them. People who cry over poetry--it sounds stupid, but it's so nice to be with someone who can be moved by art. I have friends who I love who are fun, cool people, but they'll see a beautiful film and be like, "Oh, it was good." They won't be moved by images or words. I think a lot of people just aren't exposed to it. My parents have been taking me to museums and different countries and exposing me to all kinds of experiences throughout my life, and some people just aren't exposed to that.

SS: Give me two other qualities.

NP: Someone who's smart. And who will bring me to new places, show me new things. So you don't feel like you're dragging someone around, showing them everything. And humor. Although I don't need, like, a comedian; that can be kind of annoying. Clingy is bad. Obsessed is bad. Loyal is good.

SS: What's the line between loyal and obsessive?

NP: I don't know. More than one phone call in a day is too much. And if they don't have anything to say, don't call. I hate when people call and just wait on the phone.

Suzan Colon: Okay, this is going well, so I'm heading to the ladies' room and leaving you alone. [leaves]

SS: I'll turn this off, and you can tell me what you can't say.

NP: Everything [tape recorder is shut off].