Natalie Portman touches upon the ordeal of getting sexualised as a child artist

Natalie Portman recently got candid about her harrowing journey of starting off in Hollywood as a minor. 

In a recent podcast with Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard on Monday, the Black Swan actor revealed she always knew she was being sexualized as a child star. At one point, the star also confessed to have lost her own sexuality on the way.

"I was definitely aware of the fact that I was being portrayed … as this 'Lolita' figure. Being sexualized as a child, I think took away from my own sexuality because it made me afraid and it made me like the way I could be safe was to be like, 'I’m conservative,' and 'I’m serious and you should respect me,' and 'I'm smart,' and 'don’t look at me that way,' " recalled Portman.

The Oscar-winning actress started her career at the tender age of 12 and successfully managed to build her brand with movies like The Professional and Beautiful Girls.

The actress said she had no choice but to build "fortresses" to protect herself against unwanted attention as a young actress.

"When I was in my teens I was like, 'I don't wanna have any love scenes or make-out scenes,' " Portman recalled. "I would start choosing parts that were less sexy because it made me worried about the way I was perceived and how safe I felt."