In a brand new BuzzFeed interview, Annihilation star Natalie Portman had plenty to say about not only the film, but the Time's Up movement and why she thinks we're actually living in a modern-day V for Vendetta.
The actress, who is currently promoting the Alex Garland-directed film, didn't hold back when it came to talking about fair representation both on and off the screen.
"There's a very big problem of representation in Hollywood, and I have very strong feelings about it," she said in response to the fact that her character in the film was originally written as a woman of partial Asian ancestry. "There just needs to be more representation, and I would hate to be part of that problem."
Additionally, Portman referred to Annihilation's all-female cast as a brand new experience for her. "What feels so revolutionary for us is daily life for men. Men are used to being at work with all men; for us, it feels radical."
Portman has also been an important voice in the conversations surrounding sexual assault and inequality in Hollywood and beyond, throwing her support behind Dylan Farrow, who has long been vocal about abuse at the hands of her father Woody Allen, in a recent Oprah interview.
When it comes to Allen and the fact that his career may finally be stalled after many years of accusations, Portman is not interested in focusing on the director as the most important part of the narrative. "Let's not talk about what man's career is over. Let's talk about the vast art trove we've lost by not giving women, people of color, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community opportunities."
Notably, at this year's Golden Globes while co-presenting the award for best director, Portman pointing out the all-male nominees was one of the night's most talked about moments. It might have seemed like an off-the-cuff commentary, but it was a calculated move that allowed Portman to highlight an important problem without taking away from the nominees.
"How could I bring attention to it without disrespecting the nominees? Because it's not their fault, and they all made great work. You don't want to not recognize them. It's just, why aren't we recognizing the people who aren't part of this exclusive club?" she asked. "If you look around a room and everyone looks like you, get out of that room. Or change that room."
Earlier this month while hosting Saturday Night Live, Portman mentions in her monologue that she feels like society exists currently in a world similar to the dystopian film, V for Vendetta.
"It's a really tricky time. There is the kind of silver lining to it, that it doesn't let us think that we're past sexism, and past racism, and past homophobia....during the Obama years we were like, We made it! We did it! Now, it's like: No, we're still in it. And we're facing it," she says.
