What happens when a director tries to stir the pot between two of Hollywood’s sharpest stars? Darren Aronofsky thought he had a clever trick on the set of Black Swan. If Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis clashed off camera, their tension might electrify the screen. But the actresses were far quicker than he anticipated, and they turned the entire scheme into a running joke.
Aronofsky himself now admits he tried to pit them against each other. “I was trying to be a sneaky director and make them argue,” he recalled in a new interview. He wanted conflict to bleed naturally into their performances. But there was a catch: both Portman and Kunis spotted the manipulation instantly. “Mila and Natalie both realized very quickly what I was doing and made fun of me,” Aronofsky confessed. “They’re both very clever and were instantly privy to whatever trick I was playing.”
Darren Aronofsky ’s Risky Feud Tactic Backfired
Portman remembers the way the setup unfolded. She said she was often “separated” from her co-star during production. At one point, Aronofsky slipped in a comment meant to fuel envy: “Ya know, Nat, Mila’s dancing so well.” Portman’s response was immediate. “Of course she is! She’s so f—ing talented and I love her so much and I’m happy she’s doing a great job!” That wasn’t quite the rivalry he was hoping for.
Kunis caught on just as quickly. Aronofsky fed her similar lines, telling her that Portman was working relentlessly, skipping weekends, never slowing down. But Kunis did what anyone with a phone would do. She texted Portman directly. The truth unraveled in seconds. “Then I would text Nat and she’d be like, ‘…No, I’m not?’” Kunis laughed. That was the end of Aronofsky’s strategy. The two actresses realized the game and refused to play along.
While you’re thinking of shitty dudes today, never forget the time Darren Aronofsky negged his then-girlfriend and star of his awful movie IN HER OWN VOGUE PROFILE about her love of the Kardashians… Six years after calling them a “vérité” form of documentary. pic.twitter.com/MXvNMdqjmT
— Jordan Crucchiola (@JorCru) May 22, 2019
The irony is that their friendship was already stronger than any trick. Portman had personally recommended Kunis for the role of Lily after discovering her ballet background. “We had been friends for years,” Portman explained. “I immediately called Darren and said there was this amazing actress with ballet experience who would be perfect.” Aronofsky might have wanted discord, but what he got was camaraderie.
And in the end, Kunis insists there was nothing sinister about the experiment. She said journalists expected Aronofsky to be a harsh, tormented auteur. Instead, he turned out to be surprisingly gentle. Sometimes even playful. “He’s actually a really kind, lovely guy who took us to see Twilight one time because we had the day off,” she said. So while Aronofsky’s attempt to manufacture drama fizzled, the story of how it failed adds a curious twist to the legacy of Black Swan, a film that thrived on tension, even if its leading ladies refused to feud. Onscreen they gave us obsession and rivalry. But offscreen they indeed gave Aronofsky a reality check.
