Natalie Portman plays a real mother in "Brothers"

A scene of "Brothers", featuring a meltdown by Tobey Maguire opposite Natalie Portman.

Natalie Portman, Jim Sheridan and Tobey Maguire attend the Cinema Society and DKNY Men screening of "Brothers" after party at Abe & Arthur's on November 22, 2009 in New York City.

"It was such a fantastic opportunity because so many parts written for females my age are just, like, the cute, girlish love interest. To get to play a real woman who's really strong and a good mother was really a great opportunity. It was not that challenging to be mother-ish because I have the most maternal mom in the world. So I've had a role model for my entire life.""I feel like I'm coming into my womanhood, and I'm less afraid or maybe I'm just getting old. I think about having kids, but I think you can't plan for that sort of thing. It's not like you can work at it."But she wouldn't send her kids to war.
"I could not do it myself. But, I also think that in the world we live in, in certain countries, you can't not have an army. Obviously, I'm referring specifically to Israel. I think if Israel didn't have an army, it wouldn't exist. That's a hypothesis I really wouldn't want to test, like the Israelis going, 'OK, let's just try it out and not have an army and see what happens."
Source: www.parade.com