Natalie Portman’s portrayal in “Black Swan” was nothing short of extraordinary.
Yet, the 44-year-old actress recently disclosed that she endured a significant injury during the making of the 2010 psychological thriller.
“I ended up displacing a rib or something,” Portman admitted during her appearance on Wednesday’s episode of “The Drew Barrymore Show.”
“It kind of slipped under. It was a result of being lifted constantly. It was quite intense.”
The film, directed by Darren Aronofsky, also featured a stellar cast including Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder, Barbara Hershey, and Vincent Cassel.
In a behind-the-scenes featurette, Aronofsky, 56, discussed the challenging dual role Portman had to undertake, balancing rigorous dance sequences with her acting responsibilities in “Black Swan.”
The “No Strings Attached” star worked with former New York City Ballet dancer Mary Helen Bower on set.
“The idea is, if you’re going to play a ballerina, you’re going to have to train like one,” Bower recounted before praising Portman as “so devoted.”
“We’re meeting at 5, 5:30 in the morning, doing ballet for two or three hours,” the dancer shared about their schedule. “She goes and works a 12-hour day and meets me at the gym at night, and we’re doing our toning exercises and swimming a mile. And then she goes home and goes to sleep and then we get up the next day and do it again. And this is six days a week for months and months and months leading up to the movie.”
Portman played Nina, an unstable principal ballerina whose leading role is jeopardized by Kunis’ character, Lily. The rivalry causes Nina’s darkness to come out as she looses her grip on reality.
“Black Swan” was nominated for five Academy Awards in 2011, including Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Achievement in Directing for Aronofsky.
Portman, meanwhile, took home the Oscar for her performance as Nina Sayers.
While celebrating the film’s 15th anniversary in August, Aronofsky confessed that he tried to cause tension between Portman and Kunis, 42, during production.
“I was trying to be a sneaky director and make them argue,” he told Vogue at the time.
“Mila and Natalie both realized very quickly what I was doing and made fun of me, so it quickly became a joke that we all understood,” Aronofsky added. “They’re both very clever and were instantly privy to whatever trick I was playing.”
The actresses were already friends when they filmed “Black Swan” and shared their side of the story with the outlet.
“I remember being separated from Mila and that we weren’t in the same space a lot when we weren’t shooting,” Portman reflected.
Aronofsky had a strategy to create tension between the leads.
“Darren made some comment early on, like, ‘Ya know, Nat, Mila’s dancing so well.’ And I was like, ‘Of course she is! She’s so f–king talented and I love her so much and I’m happy she’s doing a great job,’” Portman explained.
Kunis recalled how their director would tell tales to try and spark an unhealthy competition between the two.
“Darren would tell me, ‘Nat is working really, really hard. She’s not even taking Saturdays and Sundays off,’” she shared. “Then I would text Nat and she’d be like, ‘…No, I’m not?’ I think that’s how we figured out what Darren was up to, but it was all in good fun.”
But their friendship was too solid to be torn apart.
“We had been friends for years and I remember being at the Rose Bowl Flea Market with her, talking about this ballet movie I was making with Darren,” Portman said in the interview. “Mila said, ‘I remember when I would take off my pointe shoes…’ and I was like, ‘Wait, you did ballet?!’ I immediately called Darren and said there was this amazing actress with ballet experience who would be perfect for Lily.”
