For many men in a particular age range--and, disturbingly, some well beyond it--Natalie Portman is a dream celebrity. Some of the reasons for this are not entirely healthy. At 23, she still has a lot of little girl in her looks, and she projects an innocence mixed with spontaneity and quiet loneliness that makes men believe she'll want to learn from them.
But Portman is also incredibly smart (at Harvard, law professor Alan Dershowitz gave her his highest grade in two classes). She's elegant, unpretentious, unguarded and kind. She's an ethical vegetarian who has used her star status to talk to...