You remember the first time you saw it. The round glasses, the choker, the oversized green bomber jacket. It’s an image that basically defined 1994. But looking back at Natalie Portman Leon the Professional, things feel a whole lot more complicated than they did thirty years ago.
It’s the movie that launched a thousand careers and, honestly, just as many therapy sessions for the people involved. We’re talking about a twelve-year-old girl playing a "hitman in training" who falls in love with a middle-aged cleaner. It’s weird. It’s stylish. And the story behind the camera is arguably more intense than the shootout at the end.
The Audition That Almost Didn't Happen
Natalie Portman wasn't the first choice. She wasn't even the second. In fact, the casting director, Todd Thaler, originally showed her the door before she even got a real chance. Why? Because she was too young.
At eleven years old, she looked like a kid. Luc Besson was looking for someone who could carry the weight of Mathilda—a character who is essentially an adult trapped in a child’s body. But Natalie didn't give up. She came back, re-auditioned, and reportedly performed the scene where Mathilda mourns her younger brother with such raw, terrifying grief that Besson hired her on the spot.
You've gotta wonder what goes through a kid's head to tap into that kind of emotion. Most kids that age are worried about math tests, not how to simulate the aftermath of a family massacre.
Protecting Mathilda: The Parental Contract
People often bash "stage parents," but Natalie’s parents were actually incredibly protective during the filming of Natalie Portman Leon the Professional. They knew the script was a minefield. To let her take the role, they forced Luc Besson to sign a contract that sounds like something out of a legal thriller.
The smoking? That was a huge sticking point.
- There could only be five smoking scenes in the entire movie.
- Natalie was never allowed to actually inhale or exhale smoke.
- The character of Mathilda had to quit smoking by the end of the film.
They also had Besson cut out most of the overt "killings" Mathilda was supposed to do. In the original script, she was way more active in the violence. Her parents pushed back, wanting to keep some semblance of her childhood intact, even if she was playing a girl holding a sniper rifle on a Manhattan rooftop.
The International Version vs. The US Cut
If you've only seen the American theatrical version, you’ve basically seen the "PG" version of a very "R" relationship. There is an International Version (often called the Version Intégrale) that adds about 25 minutes back into the film.
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This is where things get "creeptastic," as some fans put it.
In these added scenes, Mathilda is much more aggressive about her feelings for Leon. She asks him to be her lover. She tries to seduce him while wearing a dress he bought her. She plays a game of Russian Roulette just to "prove" her love. US audiences in test screenings apparently hated it—they were laughing nervously and feeling physically uncomfortable. So, those scenes were chopped.
Besson has always maintained that Leon is a "man-child"—that his emotional development stopped at about age 12 because of his own trauma. It’s a defense people use to explain why the relationship isn't predatory: two children in adult bodies finding each other. But whether you buy that depends entirely on how much you trust Besson's vision.
The Gary Oldman Factor
We can't talk about this movie without mentioning Norman Stansfield.
Gary Oldman was basically given a blank check to be as insane as humanly possible. Most of his legendary lines were improvised. The scene where he sniffs Mathilda’s father? Totally unscripted. The "EVERYONE!" scream? He did that just to prank the sound guy, and it ended up being the most iconic line in the movie.
Natalie Portman has said in later interviews that Oldman was actually very kind on set, but his performance was so terrifyingly "on" that it helped her stay in character. You don't have to act scared when a sweating, pill-popping Gary Oldman is screaming in your face.
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The Legacy Nobody Talks About
Natalie Portman's career is a triumph, but she’s been very open recently about how Natalie Portman Leon the Professional sexualized her at an age when she didn't even understand what that meant. She received "fan mail" as a kid that was essentially creepy letters from grown men. It’s the dark side of child stardom that we’re only now really starting to address as a culture.
Even with the controversy, the film remains a masterpiece of style. The cinematography, the "Shape of My Heart" ending, and the chemistry between Reno and Portman are undeniable. It’s a movie that exists in a gray area—beautiful and broken at the same time.
How to Watch It Today
If you’re going to revisit this classic, here is how you should handle it:
- Watch the Theatrical Cut first. It’s the version that focuses on the father-daughter dynamic and keeps the pacing tight.
- Skip the "Long Version" unless you want to see the more controversial, uncomfortable subplots. It changes the tone of the movie significantly.
- Look for the 4K restoration. The colors of 1990s New York are stunning in high definition.
- Check out the "Starting Young" documentary. It’s included on most Blu-ray releases and shows Natalie's actual screen tests.
Actionable Next Steps
If you want to understand the full context of Natalie Portman's debut and the "French New Wave" influence on 90s action, your best move is to watch La Femme Nikita (1990) right after. Jean Reno plays a character named Victor the Cleaner, who is basically the "prototype" for Leon. Seeing where the character originated helps you realize that Leon wasn't just a one-off idea, but a weird, dark obsession Besson had been nursing for years.
Once you see the connection, the "man-child" argument for Leon starts to make a lot more sense—even if the movie still makes you want to look away during the dress-up scenes.