As lavish as it may seem, being a Hollywood star is not an easy job. Certain roles require stars to follow strict diets and follow intense training programs to prepare for the role. Such things take a toll on an actor’s physical and mental health. Actress Natalie Portman learned this the hard way after she went through intense training sessions and followed a strict diet in order to perfectly portray a told in her 2010 movie, one year before her Marvel debut in Thor (2011).
She regrets working in Thor because one year before that, she appeared in director Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 movie Black Swan. Portman’s work in the movie is undoubtedly one of the best in her entire career. The role was very demanding and she sustained many injuries while working in the movie. In one of her past interviews, she regretted not taking a break after Black Swan.
Working in Black Swan was a nightmare for Natalie Portman
In Black Swan, actress Natalie Portman played the role of Nina Sayers, a committed dancer, who is hired by a ballet company to play the role of White Swan, however, her reality shatters and she transcends into madness after a newcomer, Lily, becomes her archrival. Darren Aronofsky first approached Natalie Portman for the role back in 2001 when she was 20. It took about 10 years for the filmmakers to create the movie.
The stars of the movie, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis both went through extreme weight loss in order to prepare for the role. Both were required to lose 20 lbs and Kunis reportedly lost it through a combination of crash-dieting and chain-smoking.
Natalie Portman sustained many injuries on the set
It was revealed that Portman sustained a lot of injuries while filming the movie. The major one was a dislocated rib. The budget of the movie was so tight that they couldn’t afford a medic on the set. Portman revealed that they had to get rid of her trailer so they could afford a medic. It took her roughly six weeks to fully recover. The movie was made on a budget of $13 million.
The most common injury was her left toe and it had to be restrapped over and over, causing a delay. It was so frequent that everyone on the sets called the delay “Natalie Portman’s Left Toe Delay.”
Natalie Portman thinks she should’ve gone to therapy before Thor
Right after wrapping up Black Swan, Portman had to prepare for her role in Marvel’s Thor (2011), however, she regrets it now as working in Black Swan took a toll on her physical and mental health. In a 2022 interview with Total Film, the actress said,
“I loved Darren Aronofsky, and working with him was a deeply fulfilling experience, but I just showed up for Thor spent. I probably should have gone into rehab.”
Today, Natalie Portman has mastered the art of taking control of her physique. For her character of Jane Foster in Thor: Love and Thunder alongside Chris Hemsworth, Portman got in remarkable shape.
Source: GamesRadar
