Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis may have played bitter rivals in Black Swan, but behind the scenes their bond was far from competitive, even if director Darren Aronofsky tried to stir things up.
Reuniting for the film’s 15th anniversary, the Oscar winner and her co-star looked back on Aronofsky’s playful attempt to pit them against one another in order to intensify their on-screen tension as ballerinas vying for the highly-wanted role in Swan Lake.
“My take is that I was trying to be a sneaky director and make them argue,” Aronofsky 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. They’re both very clever and were instantly privy to whatever trick I was playing.”
Portman admitted she did notice subtle efforts to keep her and Kunis apart at the time.
“I remember being separated from Mila and that we weren’t in the same space a lot when we weren’t shooting.”
She added, “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 fucking talented and I love her so much and I’m happy she’s doing a great job!’”
Kunis recalled having a similar experience, revealing, “Darren would tell me, ‘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.”
While Aronofsky’s plan didn’t quite work, the film itself was a triumph.
Black Swan earned multiple Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, with Portman ultimately taking home the Oscar for Best Actress.
The reunion comes as the psychological thriller celebrates its milestone anniversary with a special re-release.
On August 21 and 24, Black Swan will return to theaters, showing for the first time in IMAX across more than 200 auditoriums in major cities.
