USA Today talks a bit about the romantic leads in AOTC, and their dislike for Hollywood hype:

It may prove difficult these days, because they play the future Mr. and Mrs. Darth Vader in Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

''I'm not sure what to expect,'' Christensen, a Canadian, says of the worldwide recognition engulfing him. ''One minute I'm doing a Vancouver TV show, the next I'm whipping out a light saber. It's a bit overwhelming.''

Christensen and Portman weren't obvious choices to play the most prominent couple this side of Tatooine. Portman, 20, and Christensen, 21, were known for low-key roles in films whose budgets would barely cover the catering costs of Clones.

Portman hadn't even seen a Star Wars film before landing the role of Padm?? Amidala in 1999's The Phantom Menace. ''I was reluctant to take the part,'' she says. ''It's a huge thing. I've been pretty conscious in my life to not be the most public figure. Especially when I was acting and still in high school, I tried to stay out of the limelight as much as possible. I want to develop as a human being.''

But Portman, who is getting a bachelor's degree in psychology from a university in the Northeast (she asks that it not be identified, although it's been widely reported as Harvard), says she couldn't pass up the chance at Star Wars.

''I thought the experience and opportunity was worth it,'' says Portman, whose previous films include The Professional, Beautiful Girls and Anywhere But Here. ''It's a film that's so important to so many people, it's the kind of thing you want to be a part of as an actress.''