This lesson came from Portman's very first film. She was 13 when 'The Professional' (or 'Leon' in Europe) was released in 1994. The New York Times review said — and she could still quote it verbatim two decades later — 'Miss Portman poses better than she acts.' The film had universally tepid reviews and bombed commercially. But twenty years and thirty-five films later, it was still the movie people approached her about most — to tell her how much they loved it, how much it moved them, how it was their favorite film. 'I feel lucky that my first experience releasing a film was initially such a disaster by all standard measures,' she said. The disaster taught her that initial critical and commercial reactions 'could be false predictors of your work's ultimate legacy.' After that, she chose only jobs she was passionate about, which 'thoroughly confused everyone around me — agents, producers, and audiences alike.'