Natalie Portman Was Asked To Get 'Bigger' For 'Thor: Love And Thunder'

Hollywood star Natalie Portmanwill be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Jane Foster in the highly-anticipated Marvel film "Thor: Love And Thunder." However, her character seems to have had an upgrade, and fans are here for it.

In an interview with Variety, the actress revealed to fans that she was asked to get very big and buff for the role. Since her almost three-decade-long career, Portman has starred in several fan-favorite films, including the "Star Wars" films, "V for Vendetta," "No Strings Attached," and "Annihilation." 

However, this was the first time she had to get large for a role. While she had to change her body physically, it also affected her mentally. Keep reading to find out more.

When asked about the role, she described it as the direct opposite of her Oscar-winning role in the 2010 film "Black Swan." In the Darren Aronofsky psychological thriller, she played a ballet dancer obsessed with the part of the white swan.

Portman revealed that she was asked to get smaller for the film. "On 'Black Swan,' I was asked to get as small as possible," she said. She compared it to "Thor," saying, "Here, I was asked to get as big as possible. That's an amazing challenge, even for my state of mind as a woman."

She also noted that it felt different to be a bigger person, mainly since she was used to her petite frame. "To have this reaction and be seen as big, you realize, 'Oh, this must be so different, to walk through the world like this.'" 

She was also looked at and addressed differently from when she was smaller. "When you're small — and also, I think, because I started as a kid — a lot of times I feel young or little or, like, a pat-on-the-head kind of person. And I present myself that way, too, because of that."

After accepting the role, Portman got to work immediately. She trained for ten whole months and adjusted her diet with the help of her personal trainer. However, while she gained enough weight, she still wasn't tall enough. 

To make up for this, the production team created a deck for her to walk on. This increased her height by a few inches, making her as tall as Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor in the upcoming film. 

This also created hilarious moments for the star while filming since the cast and crew would have to move her deck back and forth. "It was actually one of our running jokes," she said, "Chris would have to… they'd all have to navigate my deck!" 

This was the first Marvel movie Portman starred in since "Thor: The Dark World" in 2013. While she also starred in the first-ever "Thor" film in 2011, she was left out of "Thor: Ragnarok," the third "Thor" film in 2017. However, she will star in "Love And Thunder," which is the direct sequel to "Ragnarok."

In 2016, the 41-year-old stated to Wall Street Journal that she was no longer interested in Marvel movies. She followed this through as she didn't star in the 2019 film "Avengers: Endgame." Marvel used some unused clips from "The Dark World" to fill in for her part. They also included some voiceover recordings of the star in the film. 

However, in the Variety interview, she noted that the opportunity to return as a superhero convinced her to come back to the MCU.

Apart from being an actress, Portman shares two lovely children with her husband, Benjamin Millepied. She revealed how much her kids, 11-year-old Aleph and 5-year-old Amalia, inspire her career. She also noted how dedicated she was to making them happy.

"I feel like it's the phase of my career where I'm really trying to just impress my kids," Portman said. "My 5-year-old and my 10-year-old were so enthralled by this process, getting to visit the set and see me dressed up in a cape. It made it really cool."

Also, her kids are usually excited to see her work, which makes her happy. She said, "You know, it's very rare that my kids are like, 'Please go to work!' Usually, it's quite the opposite." "Thor: Love and Thunder" premieres on July 8th.