Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis recall how 'Black Swan' creator sparked feud between them

Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, who played rivals in Black Swan, have recalled that the director, Darren Aronofsky, tried to spark the feud between them on set.

On the 15th anniversary of the Oscar winning film, the co-stars and the film-maker candidly discussed with Vogue magazine about the director’s surprising strategy to enhance the actress’ performance.

Revealing that they both realised what he was doing, Aronofsky said, “My take is that I was trying to be a sneaky director and make them argue. Mila and Natalie both realized very quickly what I was doing and made fun of me, so it quickly became a joke."

The movie revolves around two dancers, Nina and Lily, within a New York city ballet company. Nina, the protagonist, is vying for the lead roles for both the White Swan and Black Swan, while Lily emerges as a potential threat.

Recalling her reaction towards his efforts, Portman told the outlet, “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!'” she continued.

For sharing her side story Kunis joined the conversation and concluded by saying, “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.”

Black Swan was released on December 3, 2010.