A music boss wants to turn Natalie Portman into a pop star, after an April Fool’s Day prank created a storm of publicity.

On Tuesday Rob Hitt, the head of Independent label I Surrender, circulated the false story that Portman had signed a deal with the company to make an album that was “Patty Smyth, but folksier”. Hitt even created a forged MySpace page to accompany the tale. And after a wave of support and interest from music fans and Portman devotees, Hitt has decided to call for the actress to try her hand at music for real.

He tells the New York Daily News, “We got so much positive feedback, let’s see what she’s got.”

WENN