Although Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis had a cutthroat rivalry in Black Swan, life did not imitate art for the actresses, despite Darren Aronofsky‘s best attempts.
Marking the Oscar-winning film’s 15th anniversary, the trio recently reunited and reminisced about the director trying to spark a feud between Portman and Kunis to aid their performances as ballerinas competing for the lead role in a Swan Lake production.
“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.”
When asked if they “remember it differently,” Portman recalled, “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.’ 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 added, “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.”
Regardless of Aronofsky’s failed intervention, Portman won the Oscar for Best Actress in Black Swan, which also earned nominations for Best Picture and Best Director for Aronofsky.
The reunion comes as Black Swan prepares to return to theaters on Aug. 21 and 24 for the milestone anniversary, playing for the first time in Imax in more than 200 auditoriums in major cities.
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