Filming 2010’s horror film Black Swan took a lot out of the movie’s stars, Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman.
“My prep was a lot of dancing and very little eating — which I know you’re not supposed to say, but it’s the truth,” Kunis explained in a joint Vogue interview with Portman published on Friday, August 15. “I drank a lot of broth and danced for 12 hours a day.”
The That 70’s Show actress was 27 at the time of filming.
“We were only supposed to have three months of prep before filming started, but we lost some financing, so that got extended to six months while [director] Darren [Aronofsky] tried to find money,” she elaborated. “It sucked for Darren, but Nat and I were so happy because we had three extra months to dance.”
Portman also noted that other than learning to dance, there were no rehearsals ahead of time.
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“One of the most surprising side effects of doing the physical training was that I ended up spending a year talking extensively to my trainer, who was a former New York City Ballet dancer and told me hours of stories that gave so much color and insight into that world. It was like doing investigative journalism, but I was just gossiping with her while doing pliés,” she added.
Filming the movie didn’t come without other challenges, too. Kunis revealed she had injured herself early in production and, as a result, worried she might lose out on the part. Thankfully, Aronofsky, 56, had a solution.
“We would shoot those dancing scenes for hours, and I had bruises all over my ribs just from being lifted over and over again,” she revealed. “I also dislocated my shoulder pretty early in the production and thought I was completely screwed, but Darren sent me to an acupuncturist and I somehow came out totally fine.”
The Limitless director also admitted he attempted to pit Kunis and Portman, who are good friends, against one another. His plan, however, ultimately failed.
“My take is that I was trying to be a sneaky director and make them argue. 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,” he explained. “They’re both very clever and were instantly privy to whatever trick I was playing. Do you guys remember it differently?”
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Portman agreed. “I remember being separated from Mila and that we weren’t in the same space a lot when we weren’t shooting. Darren made some comment early on, like, ‘Ya know, Nat, Mila’s dancing so well,’” she revealed. “And I was like, ‘Of course she is! She’s so f***ing talented and I love her so much and I’m happy she’s doing a great job!’”
