Why Natalie Portman's Dad Wanted Her to Quit Hollywood 

Natalie Portman has been working steadily in Hollywood since she was 11 years-old—a two-decade time period during which she not only managed to accumulate over 30 film credits and an Oscar, but a degree from Harvard in between jobs. At the time she enrolled at the Ivy League university to study psychology, Portman told press, “I don't care if [college] ruins my career. . .I’d rather be smart than a movie star.” So it would not have particularly surprised anyone if Portman, the daughter of two academics, veered in a different career direction post-college. But in a new interview, to promote her new film

, which is already garnering her Oscar buzz, Portman explains how she ultimately came to choose Hollywood over academia, and why her dad tried to persuade her otherwise.

“I came from such a serious, academic family, where the only thing that was acceptable was to be very literate and educated—you become a professor or a doctor or a lawyer,” Portman told

. “My dad pulled me aside when I was 25 and was like, ‘I think it’s time for you to go to law school or grad 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.’”

Portman confesses she was conflicted how to proceed professionally as well. Ultimately though, she says, “It took me a while, coming from that background [as a child actor before realizing], ‘This is what I want, and this is what I love. I enjoy this.’”

, though, Portman’s former professor Alan M. Dershowitz revealed that the actress spoke to him about using her psychology degree

her acting career, successfully melding both film and her college studies.

“We talked a lot about her career,” said Dershowitz, who hired Portman as a research assistant after she earned an A+ on a paper in his class. “She said she wanted to do acting, and she wanted at some point to be a psychologist.”

“She has choices and options,” he continued. “She would be a great psychologist, and she’s a great actor. She probably influences more people in her acting.”

“Her psychology background helped her in formulating the role for [

],” he revealed. “She’s an actor who uses her academic background.”

earlier this year, Portman explained how she studied “obsessively” before taking on the role of Jackie Kennedy in the new biopic. Click here to see how the Harvard grad prepared.

Julie MillerJulie Miller is a Senior Hollywood writer for

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