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How old was Mathilda really supposed to be?

posted a year ago by jevicci (163)
5 replies | jump to latest

She said she was 18, but obviously that's not true. I know Natalie Portman was actually 11 when they started filming and turned 12 soon afterward. Is that how old the character was supposed to be also?

Also, I must say, she did a phenomenal acting job for being as young as she was. Holy crap!

[–] fc31 (5509) a year ago

Léon (1994) (movie): 12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.

It is right there in the introduction.

[–] jevicci (163) a year ago

Duh. Thank you.

[–] CarterBlunt (1401) a year ago

16 in the original script, iirc

[–] fc31 (5509) a year ago

12 is much better. Love with a 12 years old is basically platonic, at 16 it becomes a lot more sexual.

[–] Melton (4718) 9 months ago

It’s mentioned that she’s 12, which makes her sexual advances toward Leon super awkward. Most awkwardly, Leon’s reason for not deflowering her is that he ‘wouldn’t be a good lover’ because of some sob story of lost love, not because… she’s a kid.