Natalie Portman got her movie debut at the age of 12 with the role of hitman protégé Mathilda in Léon: The Professional, directed by Luc Besson, one of the world’s most acclaimed action filmmakers. A couple of years later, blockbuster pioneer George Lucas cast her in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

RELATED: 10 Most Underrated Natalie Portman Roles

In the years since then, Portman has become one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood. Such revered filmmakers as Darren Aronofsky, Terrence Malick, and Mike Nichols have been added to Portman’s roster of directorial collaborators alongside Besson and Lucas.

Kenneth Branagh

Thor and Jane standing in town in Thor (2011)

Kenneth Branagh has recently received some of the best reviews of his career (and a boatload of Oscar nominations) for his coming-of-age gem Belfast. The actor-filmmaker made his name with a string of iconic Shakespeare adaptations that made the Bard’s work mercifully accessible to mainstream audiences.

Back in Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Branagh cast Portman as Thor’s love interest, Jane Foster. The character was sidelined in her first couple of appearances, but Jane is set to assume Odinson’s godly powers in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder.

Luc Besson

Jean Reno and Natalie Portman pointing guns in the same direction in Leon The Professional

Portman made her acting debut at the age of 12 alongside Jean Reno in Léon: The Professional. Reno plays the titular hitman, while Portman plays Mathilda, the orphan that he takes under his wing and trains as a killer.

Léon is just one of many classic action movies helmed by Besson. The director’s iconic filmography also includes such hit movies as La Femme Nikita and The Fifth Element.

Tim Burton

Taffy looking out some drapes in Mars Attacks!

With idiosyncratic gems like Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton has defined an utterly unique visual style. Burton proved the blockbuster potential of comic book movies (and the potential for filmmakers to bring their own distinctive vision to comic book movies) with his groundbreaking hits Batman and Batman Returns.

RELATED: 10 Unrealized Tim Burton Projects That Could've Been Great

Alongside Danny DeVito, Glenn Close, Pam Grier, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, and Jack Nicholson (in a dual role), Portman appears in the star-studded ensemble cast of Burton’s satirical sci-fi gem Mars Attacks!, based on the Topps trading card series of the same name.

Ivan Reitman

Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher on the poster for No Strings Attached

Ivan Reitman sadly passed away recently. From Meatballs to Stripes to, of course, Ghostbusters, Reitman directed some of the greatest, most timeless comedies ever made.

Reitman cast Portman opposite Ashton Kutcher in No Strings Attached, a romantic comedy about two casual lovers who – surprise, surprise – catch feelings for each other.

Michael Mann

Natalie Portman looking through a car window in Heat

Michael Mann is one of the world’s most beloved action filmmakers. His action movies have the explosiveness and intensity of “Bayhem” without sacrificing realism. Mann’s slick L.A. noir Heat is a prime example of this.

Heat was the first time Robert De Niro and Al Pacino appeared on-screen together (they previously co-starred in The Godfather Part II in separate timelines) – and the long-awaited collaboration didn’t disappoint. They play a cop and the bank robber he’s chasing in a tense cat-and-mouse thriller. A young Portman appears as the troubled stepdaughter of Pacino’s grizzled veteran cop.

Darren Aronofsky

Natalie Portman in a ballet studio in Black Swan

Darren Aronofsky’s sobering existential dramas have captivated critics and audiences for years. He studied the causes and pitfalls of addiction in Requiem for a Dream and painted a portrait of an aging fighter in The Wrestler.

One of the director’s most acclaimed movies, Black Swan, stars Portman as a ballerina who spots her own doppelgänger. Black Swan received five Oscar nominations – and Portman won Best Actress.

Wes Anderson

Natalie Portman in a hotel room in The Darjeeling Limited

Arguably Wes Anderson’s most underrated movie, The Darjeeling Limited, sees three estranged brothers embarking on a train journey across India to discover themselves. Portman makes a cameo appearance as the ex-girlfriend of one of the brothers.

RELATED: Why The Darjeeling Limited Is Wes Anderson's Most Underrated Movie

She reprised the role alongside Jason Schwartzman in Hotel Chevalier, a short film that acts as a prologue to the movie, in which the two lovers meet in a Paris hotel room.

George Lucas

Natalie Portman as Padme Amidala holding a blaster in Star Wars Attack of the Clones

George Lucas is one of the most groundbreaking filmmakers in Hollywood. He changed blockbuster cinema forever with 1977’s Star Wars. Lucas also created Indiana Jones and helmed American Graffiti, the gold standard for nostalgic hangout movies.

He cast Portman as Padmé Amidala, the mother of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, in the prequel trilogy. The prequels divided fans and critics, but they’ve since been reappraised as underappreciated cult classics.

Terrence Malick

Natalie Portman standing in a field in Knight of Cups

Terrence Malick helped to define the dark, edgy style of the New Hollywood movement with his debut movie Badlands, a romantic thriller about the crime spree of a pair of Bonnie and Clyde-style lovers on the run. Malick has since directed such acclaimed historical epics as Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line.

Portman worked with Malick during the most recent stage of his career: the experimental arthouse era. This era started with The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt. Portman appeared in both Knight of Cups and Song to Song.

Mike Nichols

Alice in a pink wig talking to Larry in Closer.

Mike Nichols became another early pioneer of the New Hollywood movement with the double whammy of his directorial debut Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and his sophomore feature The Graduate, two of the greatest movies ever made.

Portman starred opposite Julia Roberts and Jude Law in Nichols’ character-driven romantic drama Closer, written by Patrick Marber based on his own play.

NEXT: 10 Best Directors Meryl Streep Worked With