On the 'Hepburn Scale', Natalie Portman is More Katharine Than Audrey

As Hollywood enters into its second consecutive century of filmmaking, it is easy to compare today's hot performers and their counterparts from the so-called 'Golden Age of Film.'

Recently, Jake Gyllenhaal complimented Natalie Portman, calling her the " Audrey Hepburn of our generation. " That's high praise indeed from a peer, but it only tells half the story.

Like her character in " Black Swan ," Portman's onscreen persona can take the form of either Audrey Hepburn or Katharine Hepburn. In most of her films, Portman resemble the ' Great Kate ' more than the fragile Audrey.

Portman made one heck of a debut back in 1994, playing an orphaned girl seeking shelter with a hit man in " The Professional ." Portman kept up the edgy roles, even playing a worldly tomboy in " Beautiful Girls ."

Like Katharine Hepburn, Portman sometimes selects female characters that display a 'take no prisoners' toughness. In Episodes 1-3 of the " Star Wars " saga, for example, Portman became Queen Amidala, the future mother of Luke and Leia.

Portman seemed equally at home playing a regal ruler as well as wielding a laser pistol against her enemies.

That same Katharine Hepburn toughness extended to the underappreciated " Where the Heart Is. " As Novalee Nation, Portman was a pregnant teenager abandoned by her schmuck of a boyfriend at Wal-Mart.

Alone and scared, Novalee secretly lived in the retail store until her baby was born, ultimately building a life with new friends.

Natalie Portman's current slate of films definitely shows that on the 'Hepburn scale', she leans more towards the Kate side.

On January 21, Portman will star opposite Ashton Kutcher in " No Strings Attached ," a comedy about two friends who enter into a physical relationship. This is something that Hepburn and Spencer Tracy would have attempted in their Hollywood heyday if social standards could have tolerated it.

Portman's chilling performance in "Black Swan" is, however, a blend of the all the best Hepburn elements from Audrey and Katharine.

Nina Sayers, Portman's up-and-coming ballerina, displays a fragility that reminds viewers of Audrey Hepburn's work in " Sabrina ." Like Sabrina, Nina lives a repressed existence until she expands her horizons.

The 'Great Kate' aspects come to the surface as Nina explores her more aggressive, sensual side to play the Black Swan in a revamped version of " Swan Lake ."

Hollywood comparisons are often unfair and off-the-mark, but if we are going to label Natalie Portman, she deserves is more deserving to carry the torch of the late, great Katharine Hepburn.