Darren Aronofsky’s critically-venerated Black Swan, a psychological horror film starring Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman in the leading role, may have involved the director pulling some unconventional tricks to induce a real-life rivalry between the May December alum and Mila Kunis.
The latter portrayed Lily, an alternate dancer, with whom Portman’s Nina Sayers—a young ballerina slated for a double role in a Swan Lake production—shares a convoluted relationship within the film’s narrative.
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At the helm of production, a director’s job often becomes multifaceted. One of the many tasks includes ensuring the on-screen chemistry between the performers accurately conveys the dynamic embodied by their respective characters. To better reflect Nina’s obsessive fear of being replaced in the ballet production by Lily, Aronofsky apparently attempted to manipulate his two leads into developing a competitive spirit off-screen.
This may have been done to depict an envious authenticity that mere acting couldn’t encapsulate. Portman was quick to sense that there was an intention to spark a real-life rivalry, with the tactic. She talked about it in an interview.
Did Darren Aronofsky Try To Spark Real-life Rivalry Between Natalie Portman And Mila Kunis?
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Portman highlighted the instances where Black Swan (2010) director Aronofsky tried igniting an envious spark between her and co-star Mila Kunis. While the actress believed the helmer had attempted to manipulate the two into developing a real-life rivalry, her awareness and pre-existing friendship with Kunis refrained such attempts from causing tension to transpire on set. She remarked:
“He’d [Darren Aronofsky] say, ‘Oh, Mila is doing really well on her stuff. She’s so much better than you.’ Darren would tell us things about each other to try to make us jealous. I think he was trying to create a rivalry in real life between us.”
The director, however, denied kindling an off-camera feud.
If such were the case, though, it wouldn’t be out of malicious intentions to trigger permanent strain.
Related: Natalie Portman’s Ballet Double In Black Swan Claims She Was Part Of a Hollywood Cover-Up
In causing real-life tension to meddle in the two talents’ relationship, the results would perhaps eventually reflect on the camera, encapsulating the authenticity mere acting cannot achieve. This would aid in aligning their portrayal with the context of the on-screen characters’ dynamic—one tinted with themes of obsession, madness, and envy.
Although understandable in what regard such a method would facilitate the production, it is unconventional and could be interpreted as going overboard.
While Aronofsky did deny the assertion of having sparked a behind-the-scenes rivalry, the director revealed that one of the strategies he did utilize to make their embodiment of the characters more compelling involved distancing the two actresses during the 42-day filming process.
Darren Aronofsky Kept The Two Longtime Friends Apart During Filming Process
The same source suggested that despite playing characters who are rivals to one another in Black Swan, the two actresses maintained a friendship even before the commencement of the psychological horror movie’s production. This could’ve been why director Darren Aronofsky‘s alleged and subtle attempt at pitting the duo against one another failed.
The report additionally mentioned Natalie Portman as the one who recommended to Aronofsky that Mila Kunis, her close friend, would be ideal as Lily, a character whose ardor contrasts with Nina’s rigidity.
Acknowledging their bond, Darren Aronofsky remarked on his strategy to separate the two actresses during the 42-day shoot. This was to refrain the talents from collaborating, comparing, or discussing their approaches to tackling their respective characters or scenes. Elaborating further, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker stated:
“I knew it might be … hard to keep them apart because they’re friends. But I didn’t want them to know each other’s motives. I didn’t want them to compare notes. I wanted them to come from different places.”
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Keeping Kunis and Portman apart and having them come from “different places” would assist in highlighting the dynamic between their on-screen personas, who embody distinct personalities and styles, even when it comes to their dancing.
As best described by Mila Kunis (via ComingSoon.net), “The talent that my character has at ballet comes naturally to her … She has more passion, naturally. That’s what Natalie’s character lacks. So it’s a battle and the yin and yang.”
Therefore, Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman needed to maintain their distance from one another to effectively convey the traits that are fundamental to the two roles. As Lily, who is everything that the protagonist desires to be in life, exemplifies the attributes represented by the Black Swan, Nina, who initially measures up to the naïve and innocent White Swan, ultimately succumbs to madness to attain artistic perfection.
Judging by the results witnessed with the film’s release, Darren Aronofsky’s unconventional approaches to encapsulating the rigor, chaos, and passion of the storyline ultimately paid off, and that, too, without ruining any friendships!
Black Swan (2010) is available for streaming on Netflix.
