James Lapine: I was at the A&P the other day, Natalie, and saw your face on a soda can.

Natalie Portman: I know, I know. I did a photo shoot recently, and they had Pepsi cans there, and my face was on all of them. I was so embarrassed.

JL: How weird. Did you know you were going to be on a soda can, or did you just go to the 7-Eleven one day and there you were?

NP: They told us ahead of time that there would be a lot of marketing tie-ins to Star Wars [Episode I: The Phantom Menace], especially with Pepsi, because they paid a lot of money to put us on their chips and sodas and all that.

JL: Now that you're known as Queen Amidala, are you recognized more than you used to be?

NP: Definitely, because I never used to get recognized. [laughs] But it's not horrible. It's nowhere near what I expected.

JL: I can't imagine what it must be like, having someone you don't know come up and talk to you. What's your role in your new film Anywhere But Here which is based on the [1987] novel by Mona Simpson?

NP: I play the daughter--Susan Sarandon is my mother--and I actually thought I had felt a lot of the things before, because you always have conflicts with your mom growing up. My mom and I have a much more together relationship than the mother and daughter in the movie, though.

JL: Did you ever take acting lessons?

NP: No. But I've been working since I was eleven and that's how I learned.

JL: Were your parents totally cool about your going off and being an actor?

NP: I think they were hesitant because of the whole lifestyle; there's definitely a sense of sin among nonfilm people about film. But they knew I really wanted to do it, and I think if you're confident in the way you've brought your kid up, you're not going to be too worried about anything.

JL: So now that you're about to start college, you'll probably have to choose your projects very carefully.

NP: Well, I really don't have much choosing to do, because I have two more Star wars movies to make during college. So I guess I won't be working on anything else for a couple of years.

JL: Will you act in college?

NP: No. I think I'd be too embarrassed. You don't understand; I have such stage fright. It's really bizarre, because I am not a shy person. But I get very self-conscious and very worried about what other people are thinking.

JL: Have you given any thought to what you'll major in?

NP: I think I'm going to do International Relations. I love languages and I'm really interested in international politics--specifically Mideast stuff, because that's where I'm from.

JL: Do you have any sense of whether you'll go into politics or continue your acting career?

NP: No, but I've been thinking about it a lot. I love acting, but I don't know if there's something out there that I love more. That's what college is going to be about for me--checking things out.

JL: Well, there are lots of actors who have gone into politics, too. I was just reading that Glenda Jackson is running for the Mayor of London. And you know, there was Ronald Reagan, but he's not exactly a sterling example.

NP: Politics is easy to segue into from acting. I'm very interested in it, though I would never run for office. But after this, anything I do is going to seem very bizarre to me.