Natalie Portman's father wanted her to be lawyer or professor

Natalie Portman says her father Avner Hershlag always wanted her to become a lawyer or a professor as she comes from a serious academic family.

The 35-year-old star has said she wanted to embark on a career in the film industry when she was 11 years old, but her father asked her to go to law school as he thought she would be more "fulfilled" in that field, reported Variety.

"I don't know where it came from, because there's no one in my family who was ever a performer. I came from such a serious, academic family, where the only thing that was acceptable was to be very literate and educated.
 

"My dad pulled me aside when I was 25 and was like, 'I think it's time for you to go to law school. Not that he was saying that acting was bad, but more that he was like, 'I think you'll be more fulfilled if you have something more -- like a life of the mind," she said.

The actress further said, "So, it took me a while, coming from that background, to be like, 'This is what I want, and this is what I love. I enjoy this'.