Black Swan director, Darren Aronofsky, admitted to trying to stoke a cutthroat rivalry between Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman while filming their psychological thriller.
Fifteen years after the release of their box office hit, which earned $329.4 million worldwide against a $13 million budget, the Academy Award nominee, 56, explained why he wanted the stars to feud during filming.
‘My take is that I was trying to be a sneaky director and make them argue,’ he told Vogue. ‘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 continued: ‘They’re both very clever and were instantly privy to whatever trick I was playing.’
Aronofsky went on to explain his goal was to help the actors get in character as they portrayed ballet dancers competing to play the lead role in a production of Swan Lake.
‘I remember being separated from Mila and that we weren’t in the same space a lot when we weren’t shooting,’ Portman, 44, recalled.
Black Swan director, Darren Aronofsky , admitted to trying to stoke a cutthroat rivalry between Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman while filming their psychological thriller (seen in 2011)
Despite him trying to provoke her by praising Kunis’ talent, Portman remembers telling him: ‘She’s so f**king talented and I love her so much and I’m happy she’s doing a great job!’
Meanwhile, Kunis revealed Aronofsky would tell her: ‘Nat is working really, really hard. She’s not even taking Saturdays and Sundays off.’
‘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,’ the That ’70s Show alum said.
Regardless, the duo looked back fondly on their time on set with Aronofsky, who has a reputation for being intense, uncompromising and a perfectionist.
‘Black Swan was the first time I felt like I had a mind meld with a director, where each of us always knew exactly what to say,’ Portman praised. ‘Every time we talked it felt like he gave me a little key that unlocked a scene for me.’
When the cameras aren’t rolling, Kunis described the director as ‘actually a really kind, lovely guy’ and said he took them to ‘see Twilight one time’ because they had the day off.
‘Journalists were always so disappointed that he wasn’t some tortured soul who treated us like garbage,’ she mused.
Following its release in 2010, Black Swan received five Academy Award nominations, which included Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.
‘I remember being separated from Mila and that we weren’t in the same space a lot when we weren’t shooting,’ Portman, 44, recalled; seen in 2010
When the cameras aren’t rolling, Kunis described the director as ‘actually a really kind, lovely guy’ (Portman and Kunis pictured with Darren Aronofsky)
The movie was a box office hit, earning $329.4 million worldwide against a $13 million budget
Portman earned her first Oscar for her critically acclaimed performance as Nina Sayers.
Over his career, Aronofsky, who dated Jennifer Lawrence from September 2016 to November 2017, has been awarded a Golden Lion and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Additionally, he’s been nominated for an Academy Award, the Golden Globe Awards and the British Academy Film Awards.
His biggest films include Mother! (2017), The Whale (2022), Noah (2014), The Wrestler (2008) and Requiem for a Dream (2000).
