Screen Tests of the young Natalie Portman and the alternative ending of the film "Leon»

Did you know that the legendary film of Luc Besson, which became the debut for the young actress, in the original was much more harsh and provocative? And 12-year-old Natalie Portman herself was incredibly close to not passing the film auditions, from the recording of which, by the way, goosebumps run. 

Discover the secrets of the movie "Leon", and this is a great reason to review this cult movie once again.

Initially, Natalie Portman did not pass the casting for the role of Matilda in Luc Besson's film "Leon". She was not accepted, as the heroine in the script was 13-14 years old, and Natalie, when she came to the audition, was not yet 12. As a result, the casting director said: "You're too young for this role. Go back home."

Do you know how many young actresses participated in the casting? More than two thousand! But still, Natalie had a second chance. 

Besson, unsatisfied with the results of the tests, decided to look at those who were rejected because of their age. Among them were Liv Tyler and Natalie Portman. Tyler never auditioned — at 15, she looked too old for the role. But Portman appeared in front of the director-Luc Besson this time directed the samples himself.

He was amazed at how a very young actress, who had only a little theatrical experience, performed the scene where Matilda is experiencing the loss of her brother. Besson, impressed by the depth of the emotions played, stopped the auditions and said that the actress had been found.

Here is a video clip that contains a fragment of a young Natalie's screen test for the film "Leon".

However, Natalie's parents insisted on some edits in the script of the film, which was initially much more rigid and controversial. For example, it is known that the original idea was still a sex scene between Leon and Matilda. 

In addition, the parents were concerned about the smoking of the main character. They demanded that there should be no more than five scenes in the film with Matilda smoking and that during them she should not inhale or exhale cigarette smoke.

As a result, the sex scene was abandoned altogether. The only hint of it remained in the version mounted for European rental. There's a scene where the characters are lying in the same bed and Mathilde is talking about sex. In the American version of the film, there is no trace of this episode, as well as 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. Do you want to know how this movie was supposed to end in the original version? You are welcome! Sit back and read.

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

Someone taps on Stansfield's back. The group turns around and sees a little girl sitting next to the corpse. Mathilde kisses Leon and stands up. Her gun remains on the floor.

She looks at Stansfield, right into his eyes, and smiles broadly. Stansfield doesn't understand what's going on. Mathilde takes her hand out of her pocket and throws him something. Stansfield catches the object. This is a metal ring. Stansfield is less and less aware of what is happening now.

Mathilde opens her cloak: inside is a bundle of a dozen grenades. One is missing a ring.

Stansfield understands everything…

A powerful, all-encompassing, absolute blast!

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 sadder than usual."

How do you like this version of the ending of the film? Share it in the comments.