Natalie Portman on Bulking up for Thor: 'I Was Asked to Get as Big as Possible'

MUSCLE TEANatalie Portman "Was Asked to Get as Big as Possible" for Her Latest RoleIn preparation for her portrayal of Jane Foster in Thor: Love and Thunder, the 5'3" actor underwent physical changes that impacted her emotionally, too.

By Elizabeth Logan

June 23, 2022

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Five-foot-three Natalie Portman, slight of build and high of voice, has always had a naturally petite presence. Even with her powerhouse acting chops, she comes across as elfin, a trope she's leaned into — ever seen that "Natalie's Rap" sketch on SNL? But for her upcoming role as The Mighty Thor (Jane Foster plus hammer plus powers) in Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder, she was asked for the first time in her career to add muscle to her frame, and the physical change affected her mentally, too.

"On Black Swan, I was asked to get as small as possible," Portman told Variety, reflecting on the role — a ballerina — that netted her an Oscar. "[For Thor], I was asked to get as big as possible. That's an amazing challenge — and also [a] state of mind as a woman."

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"To have this reaction and be seen as big, you realize, 'Oh, this must be so different, to walk through the world like this,'" Portman added. "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."

To prepare for the role, Portman worked with a trainer for 10 months. But even the most talented physical trainer couldn't make the actor taller, which the script also called for. Instead, a ramp was built for the actor to walk on during filming so that she could stand eye-to-eye with costar Chris Hemsworth. 

"It was actually one of our running jokes," Portman said, after costar Tessa Thompson alluded to the way the word deck sounds when pronounced with a New Zealand accent, as director Taika Waititi has. "Chris would have to…they’d all have to navigate my deck!"

This story originally appeared on glamour.com.

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Elizabeth Logan is Glamour.com's pop culture writer. Previously she has written for Vulture, The Awl, Reductress, Above Average, Indiewire and NoBudge. She is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School Of The Arts and the owner of one black cat. You can (and should!) follow her on twitter at @lizzzzzielogan.

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