The relationship between Natalie Portman and Mike Nichols was a long and fruitful one that led the beautiful actress into the path she's been leading for the past years - and she's ever so grateful in her latest tribute to the man who directed her into her very first Oscar nomination.

Although Portman's been in front of the camera ever since she was a little kid, back when she was the "Lolita" type in "Leon: The Professional," the first time she mesmerized critics and fans alike was when she starred in "Closer" - and now, Natalie Portman's Mike Nichols love comes to light after his death.

According to E! Online, the Oscar-winning actress released a statement earlier this week, after news of the director's death from a heart attack came out. Natalie Portman's Mike Nichols comments were full of love for the director, as she talked about what a great human being he was and the amount of opportunities he'd given her earlier in her career - showing the path that has now made her a not only talented but incredibly successful actress now.

According to About.com, the relationship between Natalie Portman and Mike Nichols hardly started at the time of "Closer," but much earlier: he cast her in a play called "The Seagull" when she was still a teenager, and they remained close ever since with a very sweet mentor-protégé type of relationship.

It was only because he had known Portman for years that Nichols decided to cast her in the relationship drama, which had a small but star-studded cast: her co-stars were Clive Owen (who also received an Academy Award nomination for the role), Julia Roberts and Jude Law, in a film set in London about the harsh and horrible truths and secrets in relationships.

Now that he's gone, Natalie Portman's Mike Nichols comments have nothing but respect and sweetness in them.

"There's nothing good enough I can write that would do Mike justice," Portman said in the statement released earlier this week. "He saved me again and again. He was the best way to be a person and an artist. And the most, most fun. I send my deepest love to Diane, Jenny, Max, Daisy and their children, who filled his days with light."