Natalie Portman Masterclass Review 2022: Is It Worth Your Money?

This article (Natalie Portman Masterclass Review) will provide you with the opportunity to read an in-depth evaluation of Natalie Portman’s Masterclass, including information on how the lessons are presented, who the course is best suited for, the cost, and what I enjoyed about it, etc.

Natalie Portman is one of the most famous and celebrated personalities in Hollywood. She shot to fame at the young age of 12 after playing the lead part in the action-drama Léon: The Professional.

Since then, she has portrayed a number of legendary characters and contributed to the production of enormous blockbuster blockbusters.

Since I am a huge fan of Natalie Portman and her work, I chose to sign up for the MasterClass course that she recently had about acting since I was curious to find out what acting advice she had to offer.

This article is a review of Natalie Portman’s MasterClass, in which I address the contents of the course, its positives and negatives, and the question of whether or not the class was worth my time and money.

Who Is Natalie Portman?

Natalie Portman is an actress and director who has won an Academy Award for her work. She is most recognized for her appearances in the films V for Vendetta and Annihilation.

Natalie is now known not only for her filmmaking but also for the activism that she has been involved in since she won two Golden Globes.

Padme Amidala, her character in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, is likely responsible for the majority of her fame.

This MasterClass might be right for you if you want to improve your acting abilities and establish characters if you are serious about doing so.

You can also follow and find her latest click here on Twitter as well.

What Is MasterClass?

MasterClass is an online educational platform that was established in 2015 and is well-known for the celebrity instructors who lead its classes.

The online education platform currently offers more than 150 motivational MasterClasses that are taught by individuals who have achieved worldwide renown in their respective industries.

There are a variety of classes that may be taken, including cuisine with Gordon Ramsay, filmmaking with Martin Scorsese, tennis with Serena Williams, and thriller writing with Dan Brown.

MasterClass is well-known for its exceptional production values, and it is equally stringent when it comes to the quality of the content and learning resources it provides. This combination results in a learning experience that is captivating and one of a kind.

Having said that, it’s possible that MasterClass isn’t right for everyone. In this Natalie Portman Masterclass Review, I will attempt to assess the benefits and drawbacks of the resource in order to assist you in determining whether or not it is appropriate for your needs.

Course Overview – Natalie Portman Masterclass Review

MasterClass is an online educational platform that was established in 2015 and is well-known for the celebrity instructors who lead its classes.

The online education platform currently offers more than 150 motivational MasterClasses that are taught by individuals who have achieved worldwide renown in their respective industries.

There are a variety of classes that may be taken, including cuisine with Gordon Ramsay, filmmaking with Martin Scorsese, tennis with Serena Williams, and thriller writing with Dan Brown.

The masterClass is well-known for its exceptional production values, and it is equally stringent when it comes to the quality of the content and learning resources it provides. This combination results in a learning experience that is captivating and one of a kind.

Having said that, it’s possible that MasterClass isn’t right for everyone. In this Natalie Portman Masterclass Review, I will attempt to assess the benefits and drawbacks of the resource in order to assist you in determining whether or not it is appropriate for your needs.

1. Introduction

Natalie Portman, who won an Academy Award, will be your new professor. She is a self-taught performer, and as a result, she has built up a repertory of personal approaches that she will share with you. These techniques are for constructing characters and molding performances.

2. Getting to Know Your Character

To truly inhabit a character, you must first have a solid grasp of their motivations and inner workings so you can fully empathize with them. You will learn how to dig up illuminating details, construct a personal timeline, and investigate influential relationships thanks to Natalie’s instruction.

3. Developing Your Character Through Research

Developing your character with the help of real-life experiences is quite beneficial. Natalie demonstrates how doing the historical study, watching documentaries, and even watching movies on YouTube may help you better understand the motivations and actions of your characters.

4. Developing Your Character’s Physicality

Utilizing your body is a necessary step in the process of character development. In order to fully embody the character, Natalie will instruct you on how to discover the appropriate motions and physical exercises, as well as how to apply dress and makeup.

5. Scene Studies: Physical Gesture

Natalie discusses three performances by actors whose work has inspired her, dissecting the manner in which the actors use physical movement to reveal character in unexpected ways.

6. Case Study: “Black Swan”

In this case study, Natalie describes how she prepared for her role as a ballerina losing her hold on reality in the film “Black Swan.” Her preparation includes months of training with a ballet master.

7. Dialect Coaching: Research and Practice

Tanya Blumstein serves as Natalie’s dialect coach, and the two of them work together to prepare Natalie for parts that need her to speak a foreign language, accent, or dialect. In this lesson, Natalie and Tanya show how they work together to mold the personality of a character through the voice that they give them.

8. Dialect Coaching in “Jackie”

In this case study, Natalie and Tanya discuss the process that they went through in order to prepare Natalie for her role in “Jackie” as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

9. Working on Set

Natalie discusses the methods she uses to perform her job on set. You will acquire the skills necessary to establish an emotional connection with your coworkers, manage feelings of vulnerability and self-consciousness, and keep your energy levels up throughout a full day of filming.

10. Performing on Camera

Natalie has spent several years acting in front of cameras, and throughout that time, she has discovered what helps her produce her finest work. She discusses her own method, in addition to offering other suggestions for maximizing the effectiveness of your time spent in front of the camera.

11. Working With Directors

Building a strong rapport with a director from the very beginning of your time working together will assist you to give a performance that is well received by the audience. You will learn from Natalie how to negotiate this relationship and how to contribute your own views to the discussion.

12. Successful Collaborations With Directors

Natalie shares what she has gained from working with talented directors such as Darren Aronofsky, Mike Nichols, Anthony Minghella, and Pablo Larran. These directors include: .

13. Case Study: Working With Terrence Malick

Terrence Malick does not adhere to the conventional guidelines of filmmaking, in contrast to many of the other directors with whom she has collaborated. Natalie reveals the lessons that she picked up from the unorthodox method taken by this respected director.

14. Playing a Real Character

When you play a historical figure, you need to do extensive study on the private life as well as the public life of the person you are portraying. Natalie explains how she stays faithful to the facts about her role while also allowing the opportunity for originality and creativity in her performance.

15. Assignments in Developing Performance

Natalie will lead you through a series of tasks that will assist you in analyzing a character arc, conducting character research, and dissecting a director’s technique. She will use well-known films and performances as examples.

16. Improvisation

Improvisation, in Natalie’s eyes, is an opportunity to create something new. You’ll learn how to interact with the world around you, maintain awareness, and pay attention as she guides you through the process.

17. Demo: Working With the Set, Props, and Camera

Natalie takes you through an example scene and highlights some important questions for you to ask the director and the production designer as you go. In addition to that, she will instruct you on how to work with the set, the props, and the camera.

18. Green-Screen Acting

Acting with a green screen requires you to rely entirely on your own creative abilities. In this section of the course, Natalie provides actionable advice on how to tackle this one-of-a-kind acting challenge.

19. Advice for Actors

Natalie offers instruction on how to successfully audition, how to maintain your inspiration, how to be an advocate for the people you work with, and how to cultivate your artistic soul.

20. Active Empathy

In the final portion of this course, Natalie will instruct you to consider acting to be an exercise in empathy. She advises you to be playful, not worry about making errors, and prioritize having fun above all other concerns as you take on the role of your character.

Natalie Portman Masterclass Review: Pros & Cons

PROS

Learn from a Proven Director and Actress

Natalie Portman is a well-recognized actress in and outside of Hollywood, having won numerous accolades, including two Golden Globes. You’ll have the opportunity to learn from Natalie herself in this MasterClass.

To bring your character to life, she teaches you the art of using bodily gestures and keeping a scene going when something unexpected happens. Even though she only has 2.5 hours, she manages to cover a lot of ground in that time.

The opportunity to learn from one of your favorite actors’ favorite actresses is an unforgettable one. Inexperienced actors are unlikely to have the same amount of competence as an experienced actor can provide.

Rich and Diverse Lesson Materials

We learn best when we are shown real-world examples, documentary films, and even a live demonstration by Natalie. For viewers like myself, it’s crucial to provide a variety of lessons to keep us interested.

When compared to other MasterClasses, Natalie offers a wide variety of teaching methods to ensure that you get the most out of your experience.

Tanya Blumstein, Natalie’s dialect coach, was a major highlight of the training. For Natalie’s role in Jackie, Tanya and Natalie both walk you through the accent training process. Tanya is even able to explain some of the more specialized terminologies that Natalie isn’t familiar with.

Excellent recommendations and assignments

The Workbook provides independent learning opportunities in addition to Natalie’s own tasks that you may do at your own pace. This includes activities that require thought, ideas for extra reading, recording, and more.

Resources and Workbook of Significant Size

With this in mind, a Workbook is a fantastic tool for helping you take control of your own education. As you explore the Workbook’s 61 pages, you’ll find summaries, suggestions for additional reading and viewing, and even links to additional resources.

What a wonderful technique to extend learning beyond the classroom, in my perspective. The Workbook is more personal and hands-on than the video lessons, which may be revisited at any time. It allows you to take control of your own education and focus on the things that interest you most.

Brief and Simple to Watch Format

As far as material length goes, this MasterClass is doable with its 20 video lessons. Additionally, MasterClass categorizes these classes based on the topics they cover.

As a result, you won’t be overwhelmed if you want to focus on one section per day. This covers sections on character development, working on the set, and accent coaching.

Unlike some MasterClasses, Natalie’s MasterClass is easy to navigate and breaks down the course into manageable chunks, unlike some MasterClasses. For those who find lengthy lesson plans burdensome, this is a great approach to break up the classes into smaller chunks.

Educative and Interesting Community Hub

All of Natalie Portman’s MasterClass members have access to a discussion forum hosted by MasterClass. It’s a great place to meet new people and share your thoughts on assignments.

This is as near as MasterClass gets to a seminar experience, in my opinion. This is a characteristic worth keeping in mind if you want to learn through active conversation and debate.

CONS

Less on how to go into acting

Natalie Portman spent a significant portion of her childhood working in the entertainment industry as a child actress. As a result of this, I felt the course was unsuitable for people who are just beginning their careers and are looking to get into the field.

Compared to previous classes like Samuel L. Jackson’s MasterClass that I’ve taken, this one seemed to focus more on improving one’s acting abilities.

Natalie’s advice on auditioning and making a lasting impression is excellent, however, this program is definitely not the best fit for folks who have never worked in the entertainment industry.

Workbook Not as User-Friendly

Although I enjoyed the material in the Workbook, I had difficulty following its presentation. For some reason, Natalie’s Workbook was a lot more difficult to read because of the small typeface.

As a result, it’s less user-friendly than other Workbooks I’ve seen, particularly when it comes to breaking up the text with photos and diagrams. It’s almost impossible to navigate this PDF without the “zoom” button, and it would be even more helpful if you printed and commented it on yourself.

Comparable to other MasterClasses, less scene analysis

Scene analysis and case studies aren’t as varied in this MasterClass. As far as dialect and physical gesture are concerned, a few clips from Jackie and Black Swan and Annihilation are studied.

For Natalie’s acting range, in particular, the Jackie case study was helpful, although there may have been a little more variety in the examples.

The minor scene studies, on the other hand, weren’t always apparent in what they were meant to depict. They were often too brief for me to get much out of them, and I would have liked to see the teaching and examples more clearly connected.

The technical theory is lacking

When contemplating MasterClass as an alternative to theatre school, keep in mind that this class is significantly more practical than theoretical. Even while Natalie touches on emotional expression several times, it lacks technical theory and is far more general than particular.

This surprised me, given Natalie’s training in psychology. It is unlikely, however, that Natalie could go as deeply into this subject as she would have desired to do in a 2.5-hour lecture.

Those looking to hone their physical acting skills would benefit greatly from taking this course. You may not want to take this MasterClass if you are more interested in historical theories of acting.

Physicality is prioritized over emotion

Rather than emphasizing emotions, this MasterClass emphasizes physical performance. This is especially evident in the example scene, as Natalie uses the set and its accessories to portray her character’s rage.

My impression was that Natalie’s focus was more on gesture than on more traditional means of expressing emotion, such as a monologue.

Because of this, there was a lack of emphasis on emotional delivery in this lesson. As a whole, the case studies seemed more concerned with making the visuals more believable than the psychological ones.

Who Should Take This Course?

On a scale of one to ten, I’d say this MasterClass is best suited for people that fall anywhere between two and seven. Because Natalie devotes a lot of time to training and preparing for auditions, this is the case (something less experienced actors would be keen to learn).

I don’t believe this training, however, is aimed at complete beginners. Natalie spends a lot of time learning about acting on site and even directing the camera. Beginner courses tend to be a lot more theoretical than they should be.

Find out how:

• Improvisation and truth-telling should coexist in harmony.
• Set and prop construction and photography
• Make use of a green screen to perform in a realistic manner.
• Improve your character acting skills.
• Embody your feelings through physical movement.
• Dialectical education and training through study and practice

Course Pricing – Natalie Portman Masterclass Review

At the time this article was written, MasterClass had three different subscription plans available. This is how much it will set you back (per month):

• Individual (1 user) $15
• Duo (2 users) $20
• Family (6 users) $23

All of them are billed on an annual basis, which could seem expensive at first glance. But if you sign up for as many classes as you possibly can, you can save your expenses by a significant amount.

With more than 150 different classes to choose from, there is a good chance that at least some of them will pique your interest.

Even if you purchase an individual membership and only find ten percent of the courses to be of interest, you will still only spend twelve dollars on each course at this rate: The annual individual membership price is $180, and 15 classes are equal to $12.

Because these seminars are given by global experts, the value is unparalleled. It’s possible to pay over $100 for an online course given by a person you’ve never heard of, let alone the MasterClass lecturers.

If you’re not satisfied with your purchase, MasterClass offers a 30-day refund policy. MasterClass can be given as a present as well.

Course Alternatives – Natalie Portman Masterclass Review

There are a few more acting lessons that can be taken on MasterClass, including the following:

• Helen Mirren – Acting
• Judd Apatow – Comedy
• Steve Martin – Comedy
• Nancy Cartwright – Teaches Voice Acting

In addition to MasterClass, there are a few additional options for online classes to choose from. 

This covers the 10-hour Acting Class that can be found on Udemy as well as the more technical courses that can be found on SkillShare.

Natalie Portman Masterclass Review – Is It Worth It?

As a whole, this course is far shorter than other online acting classes. Because of this, it’s difficult to identify the primary audience. However, Natalie is less concerned with theory or emotional expression than she is with character development and physicality.

Before signing up for this MasterClass, think about what you want to receive out of it. It’s well worth your time and money if you’re interested in the subject matter. Although Natalie’s course was quite one-sided and even lacked the more emotional aspects of acting, I felt it to be a disappointing experience for me.

Since that is the case, I believe that watching Natalie Portman’s MasterClass is ideal when combined with others, such as Helen Mirren’s. This course doesn’t seem to cover as much ground as some students might have expected, so you may want to combine it with other ones to get the most out of your education.

However, Natalie’s MasterClass has its advantages. While the chapters on dialect coaching were very useful to me, it was also interesting to contemplate how one’s voice relates to a character’s personality. When it comes to acting, I think the all-access pass is a terrific deal. If you want to get the most out of your education, it’s important to hear from a variety of perspectives.

Thank you for reading this article in Natalie Portman Masterclass Review. If you have any concerns, questions, or suggestions regarding this article, please write them in the comment section below. And don’t be hesitant about passing on this piece of knowledge to others.

Frequently Asked Questions