A Young Natalie Portman's Screen Test and an Alternate Ending for "Leon" (9 photos)

Did you know that Luc Besson's legendary film, which marked the young actress's debut, was originally much more brutal and provocative? And 12-year-old Natalie Portman herself came incredibly close to failing her screen test, which, by the way, was absolutely spine-chilling.

We reveal the secrets of the film "Léon," and it's a great reason to rewatch this cult classic.





Natalie Portman initially failed the casting for the role of Mathilde in Luc Besson's film "Léon." She wasn't cast because the script called for her character to be 13 or 14 years old, and Natalie wasn't even 12 when she auditioned. Ultimately, the casting director said, "You're too young for this role. Go home."



Do you know how many young actresses auditioned? More than two thousand! But Natalie still got a second chance.





Besson, dissatisfied with the results of his auditions, decided to look at those rejected due to their age. Among them were Liv Tyler and Natalie Portman. Tyler never made it through the audition—at 15, she looked too old for the role. But Portman appeared before the director—Luc Besson himself this time.



He was amazed by how the very young actress, with only limited theater experience, performed the scene where Mathilde experiences the loss of her brother. Impressed by the depth of her emotions, Besson stopped the audition and declared that the actress had been found.



Here's a clip of a young Natalie's screen test for the film "Leon."



However, Natalie's parents insisted on some changes to the film's script, which was originally much more violent and controversial. For example, it is known that a sex scene between Leon and Matilda was originally planned.

Furthermore, the parents were concerned about the main character's smoking. They demanded that the film contain no more than five scenes of Matilda smoking, and that she not inhale or exhale cigarette smoke during these scenes.



In the end, the sex scene was dropped entirely. The only hint of it remained in the version edited for European release. There's a scene where the characters are lying in the same bed and Mathilde talks about sex. In the American version of the film, this scene is completely gone, as is any hint of sexual tension between the characters.



The first version of the script, which Besson wrote in just a month, had a completely different ending. Want to know how this film should have ended in the original version? Please! Sit back and read.



"Mathilde appears. She's wearing Leon's large cloak and holding a pistol with a silencer. Her face is hard and motionless—we've never seen her like this before." Two cops stand at the entrance to the building, looking at her in shock. It's the last expression they'll ever see.

She enters the hallway. At the end, Stansfield is laughing with his colleagues. Matilda walks until she sees a white sheet on the floor. She crouches and lifts one end. Leon's blood is everywhere, but his expression is sweet and relaxed. Matilda strokes his cheek.

Someone taps Stansfield on the back. The group turns to see a little girl sitting next to the corpse. Matilda kisses Leon and stands up. Her gun remains on the floor.

She looks at Stansfield, straight into his eyes, and smiles broadly. Stansfield doesn't understand what's happening. Matilda takes her hand out of her pocket and tosses something to him. Stansfield catches it. It's a metal ring. Stansfield understands less and less what's happening now.

Matilda opens her cloak: inside is a bundle of a dozen grenades. One is missing a pin.

Stansfield understands everything...

A powerful, all-encompassing, absolute explosion!

The shock wave knocks over everyone standing on the street. Still in slow motion, thousands of pieces of debris fall to the ground. The rain seems even more mournful than usual.



What do you think of this version of the film's ending? Share your thoughts in the comments.