Natalie Portman on being sexualized as a teenage actress: 'It made me afraid'

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Natalie Portman is reflecting on the start of her Hollywood career, which began when she was just a teenager.

One of the actress's earliest roles took place in the 1996 film "Beautiful Girls," which follows an adult character played by Timothy Hutton, who develops a crush on her 13-year-old character.

Portman, now 39, appeared on the "Armchair Expert" podcast with hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman where she discussed how attaining fame and adoration from strangers at such a young age led to her protecting herself.

"Being sexualized I think took away from my own sexuality because it made me afraid," the actress told the hosts.

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Natalie Portman appeared on "Armchair Expert" where she reflected on her sexuality being compromised at an early age due to her career in the spotlight. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

"It's a complicated thing. You're told as a girl and a woman that you're supposed to want that and it's a good thing people thinking you're attractive or people thinking you're sexy or beautiful or precocious, like these words we use around young girls in particular. Then it's complicated because it doesn't make you necessarily feel good or always feel safe," she said.

In 1997, Portman turned down the role of Lolita in Adrian Lyne's film adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's 1995 book about a middle-aged man who is sexually involved with a 12-year-old.

Portman went on to say she was "definitely aware" of the attention her movie roles got her, and while portraying characters on screen may garner unwanted attention, she somewhat shielded herself from letting others objectify her.

NATALIE PORTMAN SAYS SHE WAS SEXUALIZED AS A CHILD STAR AND FELT 'UNSAFE'

"It made me feel like the way I could be safe is I'm conservative and I'm serious and you should respect me, and I'm smart," Portman continued. "Whereas [at] that age, you do have your own sexuality and you do have your own desire and you do want to explore things...but you don't feel safe necessarily when there's older men interested."

The "Black Swan" star is married to Benjamin Millipied and together they share two children. (Reuters)

"So many people had this impression of me that I was super serious and prude and conservative as I get older. I realized I consciously cultivated that because it was ways to make me feel safe, like, oh, if someone respects you they're not going to objectify you," the "Black Swan" star added.

Shepard, who is married to actress Kristen Bell, confessed to previously having a photograph of Portman kept in his toolbox for years.

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"So when Kristen and I first started dating, she went out to the garage, she noticed my toolbox was open and there was a gigantic picture of you. It had been in my toolbox for 12 years. You're my favorite actress of all time. I don't know if that's good or bad to get out now," Shepard quipped.

In hindsight, Portman said she's fortunate that she was, in fact, "safe" in her early career.

"It worked out, luckily," she said.

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Today, Portman joked she leads a rather "boring" life. In 2012, she tied the knot to Benjamin Millepied. The duo shares two children together -- son Aleph, 9, and daughter, Amalia, 3.