Los Angeles, Oct 15 : Hollywood star Natalie Portman, who is known for 'V for Vendetta', 'Black Swan', 'Leon: The Professional', and others, is lavishing praise on the late actress Diane Keaton.

Diane passed away on October 11. Portman spoke at a masterclass at this week's Lumiere Film Festival, reports 'Variety'.

The actress said, 'She gave female characters the opportunity to be as complex as the male characters we commonly see. They were neurotic, they were funny, they were smart, they were emotional, they were weird. She let women be weird on screen. (She was) someone who was unapologetically herself, and you fell in love with her because of that'.

When asked about the performers who inspired her, Portman also spoke with admiration about Gena Rowlands, Julianne Moore, Isabelle Huppert and Nicole Kidman.

As one of this year's guests of honor, the Oscar-winning actor held the packed Pathe Bellecour theater spellbound with queues outside snaking for dozens of meters from those hoping for a last-minute seat.

As per 'Variety', over the course of the talk, she reflected on a career that has moved with ease between studio blockbusters and intimate auteur films, explaining that she founded her own production company 'to create the movies that I want to see in the world, that I want to participate in'.

'I didn't grow up with much cinematic knowledge or appreciation', she admitted with a laugh. 'I was really seeing kinds of mainstream movies. I grew up with 'The Lion King', 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' 'Dirty Dancing', 'Pretty Woman'. It was only after I started making films that I started learning about cinematic history'.

That discovery came through the filmmakers she worked with, she said, who introduced her to directors such as John Cassavettes, Michael Haneke, Wong Kar-wai or Robert Bresson. From there, her taste and understanding of cinema expanded, feeding her career choices.

/IANS