Natalie Portman On THOR: THE DARK WORLD's Humor, Smacking Tom Hiddleston And More
Will Jane Foster appear in The Avengers: Age of Ultron? Actress Natalie Portman answers that and much more about Jane Foster's role in Marvel's Thor: The Dark World after the jump! Check it out!
Does Portman think its important to root or ground Thor: The Dark World with humor? "I think one of the reasons the Marvel movies do so well is that they keep the comedy amid the action and the drama that is part of these films as well and they keep it entertaining. It’s more like life: even in the worst situations, always making jokes to lighten things up." On what she loves about sci-fi/fantasy, Nat says, "I really love getting to go into these places that I would just never be able to come up with on my own, and it’s not how my brain works. So just to enter these worlds is so magical and it brings you back to being a kid where you could just have a complete fantastical world."
When asked if she'd like to play an actual Marvel superhero rather than a romantic interest, Natalie realizes, "I think I blew it. Because once you are Jane, then you are like, ‘Oh my God, I am a superhero over here,’ then you can’t be another character in a Marvel movie." Unlike the first Thor movie, it seems Jane Foster's skill set will be almost as pivotal as Thor's this time around. "Yes, she’s really helping," says Portman. "But not in like a physical superhero way, but her scientific understanding kind of helps understand what’s going on with the correspondence of different worlds with each other." Not being a superhero meant Natalie didn't have to do much physical training unlike many of her Dark World co-stars. "No, I watched a lot of physics videos and tried to understand what my lines meant. (laughs) That was my preparation. But I don’t really have any action in it."
On filming at many historical sites in London, the actress says, "It was incredible. It was crazy to be in Greenwich. They had fake destroyed it, all of these fake columns just toppled down from all these explosions and everything. It was pretty wild to see these sort of landmarks destroyed." As for Jane Foster's Asgardian attire, "It was amazing, they are so beautiful," continues Natalie. "You have to walk very differently, but they were actually really comfortable. It’s one of the joys of being in these movies, that there’s just such a high level of craftsmanship. The silk is printed like specifically for the film, these Asgardian symbols and the jewelry and the armor is made by a metal worker in the studio and it’s just like a level of craftsmanship of old movie making that we don’t get to see much anymore. So it’s pretty amazing."
One reason Sir Anthony Hopkins was excited to return as the all-father Odin was because he'd get to share scenes with Natalie Portman this time around. On working with the veteran actor, she says, "It was crazy. I was very intimidated, but luckily he’s one of the kindest people I have ever met. So he made me feel really at ease and he’s just, man, he’s the best. You just sit there and try to remind yourself to ask because he’s just like, you are jaw dropped on the floor watching him." As seen in the latest Thor: The Dark World trailer, Jane gives Tom Hiddleston's Loki quite a smack across the face "for New York." You may recall that Tom told Chris Hemsworth to really hit him during a fight scene in The Avengers. So, did Natalie have that much leeway? "It was actually a punch. We did a few that were fake, but they could tell because I am just bad at that. (laughs) So there were a few real ones because they were like, ‘you are just a little girl, you really can’t hurt him’. So I don’t know, he acted like he could handle it, but I think I actually hurt him."
Speaking of The Avengers, Jane Foster's appearance in the superhero extravaganza was confined to a photo on a computer screen. So, could we see her return with Thor in Joss Whedon's anticipated 2015 sequel, Age of Ultron? "I don’t think I would fit in very well. They are all superheroes. (laughs)" Well, Gwyneth Paltrow wasn’t. "That’s true. They haven’t asked me, so we will see."
Marvel Studios’ “Thor: The Dark World” continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s “Thor” and “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano and Jaimie Alexander with Rene Russo & Anthony Hopkins as Odin, “Thor: The Dark World” is directed by Alan Taylor, produced by Kevin Feige, from a story by Don Payne and screenplay by Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely and is based on Marvel’s classic Super Hero Thor, who first appeared in the comic book “Journey into Mystery” #83 in August, 1962. “Thor: The Dark World” is presented by Marvel Studios. The executive producers are Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Victoria Alonso, Craig Kyle and Nigel Gostelow. The film releases November 8, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios.