Hollywood actress Natalie Portman has said she revelled in bulking up to get into the skin of her character in upcoming Marvel movie ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’.
The star plays astrophysicist Jane Foster who transforms into Mighty Thor in the Taika Waititi-directed movie.
In an interview with Variety, Portman said the preparation for the superhero role was in stark contrast to what she had to do for her iconic 2010 ballet thriller ‘Black Swan’.
“On ‘Black Swan,’ I was asked to get as small as possible,” Portman said. “Here, I was asked to get as big as possible. That’s an amazing challenge — and also state of mind as a woman.”
Portman will star alongside Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, as they both battle a new evil force, Gorr the God Butcher (played by Christian Bale).
The ‘Star Wars’ actress also opened up about what she had to do to get ripped.
“It’s a quite intense and quite disciplined lifestyle to get to that appearance,” she said. “Chris works so, so hard. Just constantly, every time he has a break, he has to be doing some sort of training... It’s also the eating and saunas and ice baths and sleeps, all this stuff to get everything looking right. It’s a full-time job!”
Variety reported that she started working with a trainer in autumn 2020, “over 10 months before and during filming to rebuild her physique, especially her shoulders and arms, into ripped, comic book shape.”
Portman, an Academy Award-winning actress, made her Marvel debut alongside Hemsworth in 2011’s ‘Thor’ as his love interest, and then returned in 2013’s ‘Thor: The Dark World’. She was not part of 2017’s ‘Thor: Ragnarok’.
However, her comeback to the franchise was announced at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con.
‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ is set to release in the UAE on July 7, and will see the return of Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Chris Pratt as Star-Lord.
